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American Morning

Interview With Author of 'Supreme Command'

Aired August 27, 2002 - 09:16   ET

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As Americans wait to see if the U.S. takes military action against Baghdad, questions about the president as military leader becoming increasingly important. Perhaps it is no surprise the president's book of choice this summer is titled "Supreme Command."
From Washington, the author of the book Eliot Cohen is our guest with us.

Good morning, sir. Good to see you.

ELIOT COHEN, AUTHOR, "SUPREME COMMAND": Good to be with you.

HEMMER: How does it feel when the president is reading your own book.

COHEN: Well, it's a very gratifying sort of feeling. I'm -- you know, when I wrote the book, I hoped that it would have a general audience, but of course one wants to reach policy makers. And it looks like we have had some success.

HEMMER: General? I would say it's quite specific at this point. What would the president learn from reading your book as it applies to Iraq and the lessons you are trying to teach, and show and explain?

COHEN: Well the first thing to say, this is not a book about whether or not we should attack Iraq; it is a book about leadership, and specifically, civilian leadership in wartime. And I think the main lesson to take away from the cases that I look at, and the arguments that I make is the importance of not taking anything for granted, in particular, for following Winston Churchill's advice, and Churchill said it's always right to probe, and I think that's what we expect from commander in chief, that he won't simply step back, take a military advice, something that is coming down from map, but be willing to push, and probe and press, even if that leads to certain round of friction with the senior military leaders.

HEMMER: Listen, you have examined Winston Churchill. You have examined Abe Lincoln, David Ben-Gurion from the late 40s in the Middle East. I'm curious how you stack up these comparisons right now. And I don't know if this is a fair question right now or not because the story hasn't taken to us Baghdad, but how do you measure and gauge the president's abilities to lead, based on the previous experiences that you have studied in your book.

COHEN: Well, I think the question is really what are the qualities that we look for in a wartime leader. HEMMER: Fair enough. Go ahead.

COHEN: And i would say most important one really is common sense, common sense, good judgment and willingness to press. I think we look for an ability to speak to the American people. That is one quality that all these leaders had, an ability to address their own publics. And I think you would have to give the president pretty high marks for the way he handled the situation immediately after September 11th. He is facing another great test right now.

HEMMER: How do you measure then when members of his own party, prominent members of the Republican Party, almost on a daily basis right now, are trotting out their own opinions and their own views, which seem to counter many of the messages we are hearing from their vice president, the president himself? Knowing that, as a leader, and effective leader, how do you approach it, how do you attack it, how do you change your strategy?

COHEN: Well, the first thing to remember is it means we're facing a serious decision, which is what any decision about war is. One thing to remember, all these great leaders faced a tremendous amount of internal opposition. Winston Churchill, for example, was a lot more popular with the Labor Party than he was with many of the conservatives. The critical issue is the ability of the administration to make an argument, and in fact, I think that's why Vice President Cheney's speech was so important. He is beginning to lay out the argument for what looks to me to be a decision to go to war.

HEMMER: When you listened to Dick Cheney's words yesterday and you listen to I guess the doubters out of there, those who cautioned to go slow, is a surprise attack out of the question, do you think?

COHEN: Well, I think at this point, a strategic surprise, the idea that we would attack is clearly not on the cards. On at the hand, tactical surprise, the timing, precise methods and so forth, that might still very well be a matter of surprise, and I'm sure that the American military, which is very, very competent is, working hard on ways of ensuring just that.

HEMMER: Bill Kristol from "The Weekly Standard" says on back cover, "If I could ask the president to read one book, this would be it." He got his wish. Thanks. Eliot, Eliot Cohen, supreme command, the author in D.C.

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