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American Morning

Is President Now Turning Away From Middle East and Focusing on Iraq?

Aired April 19, 2002 - 08:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to this morning's "Sound Off," unable to get Israelis and the Palestinians on the path to peace, the president is back to building a case against Saddam Hussein and the axis of evil.

On our show yesterday, former presidential adviser in the Clinton administration Dick Morris said the president's moving on from the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK MORRIS, FMR. CLINTON ADVISER: I think that this was a diversion, distraction. I think that Bush had to send Powell because he had to persuade the Europeans he was doing something, and I think basically his message yesterday was now we're back on track, we're going after Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: So is the president now turning away from the Middle East and focusing on Iraq? Well, joining us from Washington Bob Beckel, Democratic political strategist, and Cliff May, with the foundation For the Defense of Democracy.

Good morning to the two of you.

All right, Cliff got to start first last time. Bob, you get to join us now at the top here.

CLIFF MAY, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY: You keep track.

ZAHN: Is it clear to you that there will be some sort of military action again Iraq?

BOB BECKEL, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL STRATEGIST: No, it's not at all clear. And frankly, taking Dick Morris's view on that, I mean, I like Dick, but I never knew he was a military analysts. I mean, an analysts of many other things, but not military.

But the point that he made yesterday was that this is a diversion and we're going to go into Iraq. Well, this is not a diversion. This is the central core of what it takes to get into Iraq. If you don't have something moving positively between the Israelis and the Palestinians. And let's remember, this administration left it alone for a year. They decided to be disengaged. Well, to be disengaged, try now to get some allies to help you with Iraq, it won't happen, not for a while.

ZAHN: Cliff, is it that bleak when it comes to any sort of allies supporting us?

MAY: No, not at all. We're a nation that can chew gum and walk at the same time. It's not at all. This was a distraction in the Middle East, and people like Saddam Hussein were fueling the conflict, because they knew it was a distraction, but at this point, I think you have some pacification that has occurred in the Middle East, because of the Israeli mission.

ZAHN: Where do you see the pacification?

MAY: What has happened over the past few weeks is that Ariel Sharon has gone into the West Bank and he has dismantled the infrastructure of terrorism. He has found factories where they were building bombs and Katusha rockets. He has taken out terrorist cells all throughout. You only have had one suicide bombing since I believe -- that has been successful since Ariel Sharon sent the troops into the West Bank. That was on the very Friday that Colin Powell arrived.

You'll have some more suicide bombings if they can. Arafat has not given up terrorism. He has not given up his ambition to wipe out Israel, but his ability to do that is severely diminished. Now Bush is turning his attention back to the most important task he feels America has to look toward, and that's its self-defense. If Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, he will give them to terrorists to use against us.

ZAHN: If? Don't we know the answer to that question?

MAY: We know it in terms of chemical weapons, you're right. We don't think he's yet developed nuclear weapons and biological weapons, disease bombs, bombs that would spread smallpox or plague or something like that, though we know he's trying to do it. If we're going to take on Saddam Hussein in some way and secure regime changes, the phrase that is being used, covertly military or otherwise, you want to do that before those weapons of mass destruction are ready to be deployed by terrorists against Americans. America's self defense can not be held hostage to a conflict in the Middle East that has gone on for more than a hundred years, and which no American president has never been able to decisively solve.

ZAHN: But, Bob, you're saying you don't think the United States can put together an effective coalition. Do you see the U.S. going it alone?

BECKEL: First of all, I want to know if Cliff had just finished the book yet, but now that I think I now understand...

MAY: Excuse me for adding anything to this exchange. BECKEL: The facts are we can't even get our European allies right now, including the Brits, who are nervous about what's going on in the United States role in Israel and with the Palestinians, let alone Arab countries. We've got to remember, yes, a lot of them would like Saddam Hussein gone. That was sort of the whole idea of the Cheney trip, to take advantage of this new information about Hussein. But who in their right mind is going to get out there in front and say, yes, we support the United States. They've got people demonstrating in Bahrain for God's sakes.

Now the fact of the matter is, this would be like me going in front of a Christian coalition meeting, and saying, follow me, I want to take you to the promised land. It isn't going to happen.

MAY: Neither the Syrians, nor the Egyptians, nor our other Arab allies helped in the Gulf War. What we need to do is we have to make them understand what we are about to do, which is not allow Saddam Hussein to have weapons of mass destruction, and then Turkey, they'll help us. Look, we don't need soldiers, we don't need F-16s. We need a little bit of basing facilities. That's why we're moving from Saudi Arabia to Qatar for some of that, and Turkey we know will be there when we need it. Turkey is a Muslim democracy, and an ally and a NATO member.

We can not say, look, we can not be saying, we'd like to fight Saddam Hussein, but until the Bahrainis give us permission, we won't. We can not say we'd like to fight Saddam Hussein and stop them from killing Americans, but if the French say we can't, we won't. We can't do that.

BECKEL: Hey, Cliff, Qatar is a place outside my house in Chelsea when I was a kid. It's hard. I don't want to correct an intelligent fellow like yourself. The point is, in order to wage a war, whether you like the fact or not, the Saudis were there in the Gulf War. The fact is that the Kuwaitis were there, had to be, and a lot of other countries were giving support. Now you're not going to get that support. Where you going to go, Cliff? How are you going to get in? Are you going to drop bombs?

ZAHN: I have to quickly move you on to the controversy in New York, Mario Cuomo's son, who is running for governor, and he made some off-the-hand comments as Governor Pataki now having been as strong a leader as he thinks he should have been in the wake of September 11th. Is this going to kill his candidacy, Bob Beckel?

BECKEL: It's not going to kill it, but you know, I've know Andrew Cuomo a long time, and this one just shocks me. I just can not imagine how such a good political mind like that will allow himself to get caught up in 9/11. And the problem is his opponent in the Democratic primary, McCall's going to use it, and I don't blame him. I mean, it was a big opening, a big mistake. Will it carry into September, October and November? Probably not.

ZAHN: Cliff, final thought, got to give you ten seconds worth.

MAY: It was a chowderhead move, and it should be lesson to other politicians, 911, the war on terrorism can not become a partisan issue. Any politician who makes it a partisan issue commits political suicide.

ZAHN: All right, there you have it.

BECKEL: That was succinct.

ZAHN: Yes, he was done, he was done writing the book, Bob.

BECKEL: Clearly. I mean, clearly, this is just the acknowledgement.

ZAHN: I didn't mean to beat you up, Cliff. I was just following along with Bob's little line there earlier in the segment.

MAY: That's because she beats me up all the time. What are you talking about?

ZAHN: Yes, equal beating up. All right, Cliff May, Bob Beckel, thank you both for your time. Have a great weekend. See you next week.

BECKEL: Thanks, Paula.

MAY: You too, Paula. Thank you.

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