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American Morning
Bush Meets with Chretien Today
Aired September 09, 2002 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: An independent report released this morning seems to strengthen the Bush administration's position on Iraq. It comes just one day after Vice President Cheney accused Saddam Hussein of trying to develop a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, President Bush very busy lobbying world leaders. He meets today with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, or "Cretien," if you want to call him that.
Senior White House correspondent John King from Washington -- good morning, John.
How are you doing this morning?
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
Now, officially the subject of the talks between the president and the prime minister of Canada are border security. That is why President Bush will leave the White House shortly for Detroit, Michigan. I think we can show you Marine One standing by on the South Lawn, getting ready to take the president on that trip.
But the White House says the two leaders also will discuss Iraq. Prime Minister Chretien saying in recent days he has yet to see the evidence that would lead him to put Canada in the U.S. column supporting any military confrontation with Saddam Hussein. Mr. Bush will try to make that case today and it comes, of course, as you noted, as the president's war cabinet, you might call it, makes the case that there is such evidence.
Vice President Cheney telling CNN there is irrefutable evidence in U.S. hands that Saddam Hussein is working to bolster his nuclear program, his chemical weapons program and his biological weapons program. Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, also out making the case for the president's position. She says yes, perhaps some would question whether this evidence is 100 percent locked solid. But she says one lesson of September 11 is the United States cannot wait. When it sees a threat, it must act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: Tough talk there from the president's national security adviser. Again, Mr. Bush meets with the Canadian prime minister today. Then it's on to the United Nations later this week. More one- on-one meetings with world leaders and then a major speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the president trying to make his case that if the United Nations does not get Saddam Hussein to fully disarm, the United States will have to consider military strikes -- Paula.
ZAHN: So, John, how significant of a development is it that the vice president is now talking about this report that these aluminum pipes were seized that could ultimately be used in the construction of a centrifuge?
KING: Well, that is the evidence, of course, that many have been asking for, skeptics in the Congress, skeptics around the world have said what makes it different? Why does the United States want to act now, consider military strikes now, after 10 years of saying Saddam Hussein has been violating the sanctions?
What the United States is saying is, number one, yes, there is evidence he has tried to buy these aluminum tubes to help him enrich uranium. So in the U.S. view Saddam Hussein aggressively trying to build a nuclear weapon. And the vice president says September 11 changed the rules, that the United States realized how vulnerable it is, that you cannot let someone develop these programs and then try to negotiate them away. If you see the weapons, the vice president, anyway, and the president later this week, will make the case, the U.S. will and must act.
ZAHN: But it is also the vice president's belief that Iraq does not have the fissile material yet, right?
KING: He said that. In our interview he said does not have it yet. But he says there is evidence Saddam Hussein is trying to make it. That's what he would want those aluminum centrifuges for, and that would take several years. The vice president also says there's some evidence Saddam is trying to buy it, buy it from somewhere, from a loose supply, perhaps from Russia or somewhere else, the vice president saying all the money Saddam makes with selling oil leaves him the resources to buy it, if he can find it.
ZAHN: John King, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
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