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American Morning
Bush to Address Nation on Iraq
Aired October 07, 2002 - 07:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We now turn to the case against Saddam Hussein. President Bush will be addressing the nation tonight, and a lot is riding on that speech.
Congress has already sent signals that it will pass a resolution to back war with Iraq, if necessary. But a powerful speech tonight could hand President Bush the mandate he needs to convince the world community.
Kelly Wallace joins us from the White House now with a bit of a preview.
Good morning -- Kelly. What have you learned?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Paula.
The goal, aides say, really of the president's speech, is to educate the American people. But it is also designed to answer those critics who say he has not yet made the case for a possible war with Iraq, and to put the maximum pressure on lawmakers, because the president is looking for the largest margin of victory in the House and in the Senate, as lawmakers prepare to vote on this historic war powers resolution.
Strong, overwhelming votes in both Houses could strengthen the president's hand, as he tries to convince skeptical allies, such as Russia and France, to back a tough, new U.N. resolution.
Now, aides say the president, in his speech, will try to answer some lingering questions of his tough Iraq policy, such as why now for a possible military campaign against Iraq? Why does he believe Iraq poses such a unique threat?
A senior official also saying the president will phrase the argument in a different way, but he will not be offering any new, explosive evidence and no new policy initiatives to come out of tonight's speech. A sign of that, the administration has not asked the broadcast networks for time to air the president's remarks, something this White House would definitely do if the president planned to make a major announcement tonight in Cincinnati.
The timing of this speech is significant. It comes on the one- year anniversary of the start of the military campaign against Afghanistan. Paula, the president will try to make the case that Iraq should be the next focus of the war on terror -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Kelly,
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 7, 2002 - 07:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We now turn to the case against Saddam Hussein. President Bush will be addressing the nation tonight, and a lot is riding on that speech.
Congress has already sent signals that it will pass a resolution to back war with Iraq, if necessary. But a powerful speech tonight could hand President Bush the mandate he needs to convince the world community.
Kelly Wallace joins us from the White House now with a bit of a preview.
Good morning -- Kelly. What have you learned?
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Paula.
The goal, aides say, really of the president's speech, is to educate the American people. But it is also designed to answer those critics who say he has not yet made the case for a possible war with Iraq, and to put the maximum pressure on lawmakers, because the president is looking for the largest margin of victory in the House and in the Senate, as lawmakers prepare to vote on this historic war powers resolution.
Strong, overwhelming votes in both Houses could strengthen the president's hand, as he tries to convince skeptical allies, such as Russia and France, to back a tough, new U.N. resolution.
Now, aides say the president, in his speech, will try to answer some lingering questions of his tough Iraq policy, such as why now for a possible military campaign against Iraq? Why does he believe Iraq poses such a unique threat?
A senior official also saying the president will phrase the argument in a different way, but he will not be offering any new, explosive evidence and no new policy initiatives to come out of tonight's speech. A sign of that, the administration has not asked the broadcast networks for time to air the president's remarks, something this White House would definitely do if the president planned to make a major announcement tonight in Cincinnati.
The timing of this speech is significant. It comes on the one- year anniversary of the start of the military campaign against Afghanistan. Paula, the president will try to make the case that Iraq should be the next focus of the war on terror -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Kelly,
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
