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American Morning

The War Room

Aired October 10, 2002 - 08:35   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: Back to the issue of the situation room. That's exactly what it's called, and it's filled with the secrets of war. Presidents and advisers have argued over war there since FDR, and it's where critical conversations over Iraq will occur if we go to war. War room scenes are a staple of the movies, as in "13 Days," where President Kennedy talks with staff during the Cuban Missile Crisis. But what really goes on there? Douglas Brinkley is with us this morning and joins us from New Orleans to discuss what goes on in NEVILLE: e situation room in times of war.
Good morning, Douglas. Good to see you again.

DR. DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENT HISTORIAN: Good morning.

ZAHN: How critical has this room been, historically, when decisions have been made?

BRINKLEY: During World War II, there is the special area that FDR had, and it was called the map room. And it was in the map room where we got all of our cables from Winston Churchill, or Chiang Kay- Shek or Stalin. It was made perfectly for his wheelchair, so he could have easy access. That stopped and during the Truman and Eisenhower period, the map room wasn't used any more, but it was during the Kennedy administration where the situation room really kind of entered our consciousness as being the national security beehive during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and since that time, a lot of dramatic moments have occurred there.

Most recently, after September 11th bombings, that very day when President Bush was in Florida and was moving around the country, Dick Cheney was there in the situation room monitoring cable traffic, video images, etcetera.

ZAHN: Is it true that when Lyndon Johnson used to have trouble sleeping, he'd head to the situation room?

BRINKLEY: He would head there, and during the Vietnam War, he would go there to hear the results of a certain bombing campaign or just because he had insomnia. It's the one place, if you can imagine, a White House in the evening where things are quiet. It is a residence, besides being the headquarters of our executive branch. And it's a place that a president could go at any moment at any time and get as much information, intelligence information, as possible, and there are all sorts of incredible scenes that have occurred there over the years.

ZAHN: Take us back to the scenes involving Franklin Delanor Roosevelt. I know the room was called the map room at the time, but it was, in fact, a situation room. What critical situations were made there?

BRINKLEY: Today, the map room is the reception room for the first lady, and it most entered the American scene when Bill Clinton made his Monica Lewinsky speech from that room, and it's filled today with 18th century furniture.

In Roosevelt's time, it was everything. When Churchill would come and stay over at the White House, and he'd be in a bathrobe with a cigar, wandering in there at all sorts of hours. Roosevelt loved the maps and spent a lot of time at sea, and had these elaborate maps made to study and put the little pins in the map to try to see where ships or tanks' movement, trying to make a global strategy out of there. Also, when FDR finally died, they went through and it was just stuffed with piles of correspondence with world leaders there.

So when you see World War II movies and portraying the kind of nerve center of the Second World War, the vortex of the American war effort was the map room at the White House.

ZAHN: I know you've described how secretive some of these conversations were that took place in this room. Is it true that Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't even allowed in?

BRINKLEY: Well, Eleanor Roosevelt was not allowed in. But I should add that Franklin Roosevelt did get updates on his family from there. One of the reasons Eleanor wanted to always go in was find out about her son or -- who was overseas. And one day, she brought Madame Chiang Kay-shek in, and it created a great a bit of anger among the Navy and Army personnel, that she was bringing the wife of a foreign leader into this highly sensitive nerve center. So she was banned from it, and it was a place that she could only come on a prearranged appointment to check on something dealing with a member of her family.

ZAHN: Today, who is allowed in there? Can the first lady wander in there? Can advisers wander in there?

BRINKLEY: It's whoever the president of the United States chooses. And you have to keep in mind, it's administered by the National Security Council. So our national security adviser, Ms. Rice, comes and goes from there. At any time, somebody like a Colin Powell or Dick Cheney or an assistant secretary of state or defense for a particular crisis or given reason may be coming in and out, but it's done on a day-by-day basis, and there is military personnel sort of guarding it and monitoring things, in addition to people who work with the National Security Council.

ZAHN: Very quickly in closing, I know you've had access to some declassified documents to give you an idea of maybe some of what happened in that room during LBJ's presidency.

BRINKLEY: There is a lot of tame things. But what came out of it was the Dominican crisis in 1965 when the United States sent troops to Dominican Republic. And LBJ had these dicta tapes that he would record all of these conversations that occurred there. And some of the telephones weren't secured during that crisis. But you could go to Austin, Texas, to the Johnson library and listen to these hundreds of hours of recently declassified Dominican Republic crisis tapes, and you can kind of capture what the feeling is like in the situation room.

ZAHN: We are going to count on you to listen to all those audiotapes, Dr. Douglas Brinkley. We know you do a lot of listening to take care of the research involved in the writing of your books. We appreciate your dropping by.

BRINKLEY: Thanks for having me, Paula.

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 10, 2002 - 08:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the issue of the situation room. That's exactly what it's called, and it's filled with the secrets of war. Presidents and advisers have argued over war there since FDR, and it's where critical conversations over Iraq will occur if we go to war. War room scenes are a staple of the movies, as in "13 Days," where President Kennedy talks with staff during the Cuban Missile Crisis. But what really goes on there? Douglas Brinkley is with us this morning and joins us from New Orleans to discuss what goes on in NEVILLE: e situation room in times of war.
Good morning, Douglas. Good to see you again.

DR. DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENT HISTORIAN: Good morning.

ZAHN: How critical has this room been, historically, when decisions have been made?

BRINKLEY: During World War II, there is the special area that FDR had, and it was called the map room. And it was in the map room where we got all of our cables from Winston Churchill, or Chiang Kay- Shek or Stalin. It was made perfectly for his wheelchair, so he could have easy access. That stopped and during the Truman and Eisenhower period, the map room wasn't used any more, but it was during the Kennedy administration where the situation room really kind of entered our consciousness as being the national security beehive during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and since that time, a lot of dramatic moments have occurred there.

Most recently, after September 11th bombings, that very day when President Bush was in Florida and was moving around the country, Dick Cheney was there in the situation room monitoring cable traffic, video images, etcetera.

ZAHN: Is it true that when Lyndon Johnson used to have trouble sleeping, he'd head to the situation room?

BRINKLEY: He would head there, and during the Vietnam War, he would go there to hear the results of a certain bombing campaign or just because he had insomnia. It's the one place, if you can imagine, a White House in the evening where things are quiet. It is a residence, besides being the headquarters of our executive branch. And it's a place that a president could go at any moment at any time and get as much information, intelligence information, as possible, and there are all sorts of incredible scenes that have occurred there over the years.

ZAHN: Take us back to the scenes involving Franklin Delanor Roosevelt. I know the room was called the map room at the time, but it was, in fact, a situation room. What critical situations were made there?

BRINKLEY: Today, the map room is the reception room for the first lady, and it most entered the American scene when Bill Clinton made his Monica Lewinsky speech from that room, and it's filled today with 18th century furniture.

In Roosevelt's time, it was everything. When Churchill would come and stay over at the White House, and he'd be in a bathrobe with a cigar, wandering in there at all sorts of hours. Roosevelt loved the maps and spent a lot of time at sea, and had these elaborate maps made to study and put the little pins in the map to try to see where ships or tanks' movement, trying to make a global strategy out of there. Also, when FDR finally died, they went through and it was just stuffed with piles of correspondence with world leaders there.

So when you see World War II movies and portraying the kind of nerve center of the Second World War, the vortex of the American war effort was the map room at the White House.

ZAHN: I know you've described how secretive some of these conversations were that took place in this room. Is it true that Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't even allowed in?

BRINKLEY: Well, Eleanor Roosevelt was not allowed in. But I should add that Franklin Roosevelt did get updates on his family from there. One of the reasons Eleanor wanted to always go in was find out about her son or -- who was overseas. And one day, she brought Madame Chiang Kay-shek in, and it created a great a bit of anger among the Navy and Army personnel, that she was bringing the wife of a foreign leader into this highly sensitive nerve center. So she was banned from it, and it was a place that she could only come on a prearranged appointment to check on something dealing with a member of her family.

ZAHN: Today, who is allowed in there? Can the first lady wander in there? Can advisers wander in there?

BRINKLEY: It's whoever the president of the United States chooses. And you have to keep in mind, it's administered by the National Security Council. So our national security adviser, Ms. Rice, comes and goes from there. At any time, somebody like a Colin Powell or Dick Cheney or an assistant secretary of state or defense for a particular crisis or given reason may be coming in and out, but it's done on a day-by-day basis, and there is military personnel sort of guarding it and monitoring things, in addition to people who work with the National Security Council.

ZAHN: Very quickly in closing, I know you've had access to some declassified documents to give you an idea of maybe some of what happened in that room during LBJ's presidency.

BRINKLEY: There is a lot of tame things. But what came out of it was the Dominican crisis in 1965 when the United States sent troops to Dominican Republic. And LBJ had these dicta tapes that he would record all of these conversations that occurred there. And some of the telephones weren't secured during that crisis. But you could go to Austin, Texas, to the Johnson library and listen to these hundreds of hours of recently declassified Dominican Republic crisis tapes, and you can kind of capture what the feeling is like in the situation room.

ZAHN: We are going to count on you to listen to all those audiotapes, Dr. Douglas Brinkley. We know you do a lot of listening to take care of the research involved in the writing of your books. We appreciate your dropping by.

BRINKLEY: Thanks for having me, Paula.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com