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American Morning

Bush Expected to Propose New U.N. Resolution

Aired September 12, 2002 - 09:54   ET

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

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check in with John King to talk about what he has learned. You can now say that the president will ask for a resolution from the Security Council.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He will not in the speech, Paula, ask for that. The president is trying to be diplomatic here. He understands all of the criticism he has faced in recent months about the policy. In the speech, the president will say the United Nation's credibility is at stake. It must act now to enforce the resolutions. We are told behind the scenes, the U.S. will push for a new resolution in the security council with the help of Great Britain. In that resolution, the United States will seek a deadline. We are told three to four weeks for the inspectors to go back into Iraq, and the debate now is how do you get what they call teeth into that resolution, meaning clear language.

The security council in the past has been very reluctant to say an explicit language about military strikes. But they want clear language to Saddam Hussein, that says if the inspectors are allowed back in, it has to be any time, any place, anywhere, or else. The "or else" is key to the United States.

ZAHN: Let's talk about what the president is going to come with armed today, a white paper, which essentially is his road map for taking action against Iraq, outlining more than a dozen resolutions, he says, have been violated.

Now this is nothing new, is it?

KING: It's nothing new, but the president will be in the well of the United Nations. He will say this is a great institution formed so that the world could come together collectively to deal with threats, and then he will say, why is it your resolutions are being ignored? Your credibility is at stake. Something else he says will be very important, too. The president understands the opposition. He will not make a case against Iraq. He will make a case against Saddam. He will say that this is a great nation, but it is a bad regime.

ZAHN: Is he likely to appease any of his critics out there with this speech?

KING: This has looked clumsy. and there has been talk of a tug of war within the administration. The White House believes it is making considerable progress. Kofi Annan, before the president, will say, act through the United Nations, do not act unilaterally, but he will say the Security Council must mean business this time.

ZAHN: All right, John, you'll be back with us in just about four minutes, as our special events coverage gets underway.

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