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American Morning

Interview with Peter Singer

Aired August 30, 2002 - 07:30   ET

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

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to Iraq right now. And when it comes to Baghdad, the vice president, Dick Cheney, says the U.S. will proceed cautiously and consider all options. He's still talking tough, making his case again yesterday for a preemptive strike in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some have argued that to oppose Saddam Hussein would cause even greater troubles in that part of the world and interfere with the larger war against terror. I believe the opposite is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That was from yesterday.

Now, this morning word of a break within the Bush administration over the issue of Iraq. At the State Department, Andrea Koppel now tracking that for us this morning -- Andrea, good morning. What do you have?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

Well, while Vice President Dick Cheney's two speeches in the last week appear to be the clearest signal yet that the Bush administration intends to go to war with Iraq, CNN has learned that behind-the-scenes a battle is being waged over how that war should be fought. One of Secretary of State Colin Powell's confidantes within the administration tells CNN that Powell does not believe the U.S. should go to war unless it has the support of key allies, something which it does not have right now.

This is a major difference of opinion from others in this administration, in particular over in the Pentagon, who believe the U.S. doesn't need allies and shouldn't make an effort to win them over.

Now, for those who are familiar with Powell's past record, this won't come as a surprise. He has been very much the reluctant soldier. Remember, ahead of the Gulf War when Powell, who is now a retired four star general, was the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, he did not support the U.S. military taking military action against Iraq to force it out of Kuwait.

But having said that, as far as Secretary Powell's position is concerned, he is not himself making any of this public. Rather, there are others, other retired national security advisers, secretaries of state and, in fact, Anthony Zinni, who was himself the commander of the, in the Middle East, made some private comments which seemed to echo that of Secretary Powell's.

He said, "Attacking Iraq now will cause a lot of problems. If you ask me my opinion, General Scowcroft, General Powell, General Schwarzkopf, General Zinni maybe all see this the same way. It might be interesting to wonder why all the generals see it in the same way," he goes on to say, "and all those who never fired a shot in anger and really held back to go to war to see it in a different way. That usually the way it is in history."

Now, State Department officials deny that Secretary Powell has been purposely lying low in recent days. In fact, they say the month is August. It's a slow month to begin with. He was on vacation last month. And in point of fact, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher points out that, in fact, Secretary Powell has been very busy in the last week giving interviews to various journalists, speaking about Iraq ahead of next month's anniversary of the September attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: And the fact is that most of the interviews the Secretary has been doing recently have been about September 11 and won't air until around that date. But he's had plenty of comments. I can say that he's said to various people exactly what I've been saying to you, is Iraq is a danger that has to be dealt with. And there's no question of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, even though Secretary Powell is not tipping his hand, one key confidante within the administration tells CNN look to next month's United Nations General Assembly as a key indicator as to whether or not Secretary Powell is making headway. That's when President Bush, Bill, is set to deliver his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andrea.

Andrea Koppel at the State Department this morning.

More on Iraq now with Peter Singer, a foreign policy and national security expert at the Brookings Institution in D.C.

Sir, good morning. Good to have you here.

PETER SINGER, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Good morning.

HEMMER: I want to talk about Colin Powell, talk about the vice president's speech yesterday. But to get you on record, you say right now is not the time. When is the time right then, Peter?

SINGER: I think you have to lay the groundwork for it. To be frank, right now our European allies aren't supporting us, our Arab allies aren't supporting us, the American people is divided on this, the Republican Party is divided on this and it now appears that the administration itself is divided on this. And that's not how you go to war.

I'd rather see us concentrate on winning the war on terrorism first and then go after Iraq.

HEMMER: On that topic, Peter, many would argue that there are only several thousand U.S. men and women in Afghanistan right now, leaving you a plethora of military options all over the world that are being drawn on for the eventuality of battle in Baghdad. Do you not buy that argument, that, indeed, the U.S. military is a lot wider, has a lot more breadth than some people would give it credit?

SINGER: My doubt isn't that the American military could easily handle Iraq. It's the fact that taking on this war draws away important political energy and capital from the deals that we need to be making on the war on terrorism. For example, when we're approaching the Saudis, I want us talking specifically about how we can run down al Qaeda, not about a drawn out discussion on Iraq.

Let's remember, bin Laden is the one who killed 3,000 Americans just one year ago. Let's keep our focus here and not get distracted.

HEMMER: Peter, in my first question I mentioned the issue of time. Listen to what Dick Cheney had to say about Saddam Hussein buying time for himself and his own development of what the White House says are weapons of mass destruction.

Here's the vice president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With Saddam's record of thwarting inspections, one has to be concerned that he would continue to plot using the available time to husband his resources, to invest in his ongoing chemical and biological weapons programs and to gain the possession of nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: He and others who are...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: And should all his ambitions be realized, the implications would be enormous for the Middle East, for the United States and for the peace of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: He and proponents of hitting Iraq would say hit him before he hits you or someone else. What's wrong with that logic, Peter?

SINGER: The logic's not wrong, it's the timing that's wrong. And it's a case that you need to build to go after him. You don't want to go it alone. So if you actually lay down the line and have a very strong inspections regime, you either reach success or he attempts to dodge them and then you have a case for bringing along your allies here.

That's the point here. We're going it alone. We're divided on this. It's not the way that you start a war. It's serious business and I think it's very important that all the ex-generals here are the ones speaking out against it.

HEMMER: Peter, take us into September when Congress comes back to work in Washington next week. Where does this debate shift at that point?

SINGER: I think Congress' role in this is very important. The Bush administration has hemmed and hawed. It's said maybe we do have, already have the authorization of force. But to be frank, that's not something that you inherit from your father.

Congress has to be able to lay their political careers on the line because we will be sending in American men and women to lay their lives on the line. So it's important that Congress plays a role in this and the American people have a voice on this.

HEMMER: We're out of time.

Peter Singer, Brookings Institution there in Washington.

Thank you for your time today.

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