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American Morning

White House on Iraq Offensive

Aired September 04, 2002 - 07:02   ET

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

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush, this morning, will meet with congressional leaders at the White House, as he tries to make the case for action against Iraq.
Let's go to senior White House correspondent, John King, who joins us with a little preview of where that conversation might go today.

Good morning -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.

Consider today a new day, if you will, in the debate over U.S. policy toward Iraq. The president has said all summer long he will consult with Congress. Those consultations begin in earnest a few hours from now here at the White House.

The president also at the end of next week will deliver a major speech on Iraq policy to the United Nations General Assembly. This, an effort by the president to build support here at home in the United States and around the world for a tough posture when it comes to Iraq and its president, Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Bush will get some tough questions from Congress this morning. Lawmakers want to know, what is his timetable for possible military action? How many U.S. troops would it take? Would he go it alone if the allies say no? How much would it cost? If Saddam Hussein is removed from power, what commitment would the United States put in place to replace that government? All of those very long-term questions.

One of the short-term questions is, despite all the skepticism, would this administration accept a new round of weapons inspections inside Iraq? In recent days under tough international pressure, Iraq has, once again, said it might accept inspectors. Might. There is still a great deal of skepticism even from the head of the United Nations that that could happen, and at the Pentagon, even more skepticism.

Asked about all of this yesterday in advance of today's critical meetings, the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, says, yes, Iraq once again is talking about letting the inspectors in. But Secretary Rumsfeld made clear he doesn't believe it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It's unlikely for the folks there to agree to it. And I haven't seen any inclination on their part to agree to anything, except as a ploy from time to time, to muse over the possibility we might do this or we might do that, and kind of play the international community and the U.N. process like a guitar, plucking the right string at the right moment to delay something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Clear there, the secretary's skepticism about inspections. That skepticism held throughout the administration.

Still, many here believe if there is to be international support for military confrontation down the road, this administration might have to give inspectors another chance. Because of that, they are preparing to lay down this line to the United Nations: If the inspectors go back in, and if they are denied access to any sites in Iraq, that would be it. From the Bush administration's standpoint, that would justify military strikes -- Paula.

ZAHN: And have you heard any timetable for that? Because clearly, there has been much debate about whether you allow the inspectors to go in, it should be an open-ended deal.

KING: Certainly, it should not be. U.S. military planning is not complete. There could be no military offensive until early next year. Most senior U.S. officials say the president's speech to the United Nations and his meetings up in New York next week will be critical in determining whether this president will, despite his skepticism, in the short term say, let's try to get inspectors in by the end of the year.

But again, this administration says it must be anytime, anyplace, anywhere, and if Saddam Hussein says no, the United States does not want negotiations. It wants, then, the inspectors pulled out, and Iraq put on notice of what might happen next.

ZAHN: All right, John, thanks so much. Appreciate that live update.

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