Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Dual Threats
Aired December 24, 2002 - 09:10 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: Time to talk about our big story this morning, a stern warning from North Korea to the U.S. Pyongyang says its forces are up to the task of defending -- or defeating, that is, any enemy. The comment comes a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the U.S. is capable of going to war with North Korea and Iraq at the same time, if necessary.
Joining us from Little Rock, Arkansas to discuss the latest on North Korea and Iraq, CNN military analyst General Wesley Clark.
Thanks for joining us on the holiday. Merry Christmas.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK, (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Merry Christmas, Paula.
ZAHN: Are you ready?
CLARK: I'm ready. I did my shopping.
ZAHN: See, he's one of the day guys that doesn't wait until the last minute.
So, general, let's talk about what a senior White House official told us yesterday, that the strategic risk posed by North Korea at the moment is not that great. You don't agree with that assessment. Why?
CLARK: I think that the North Koreans, you've got an army that's poised near the demilitarized zone. It's about a million-man army. It's very strong. They have no desire to attack. There hasn't been a war on the Korean peninsula for over half a century, but this is a regime which is collapsing, failing regime internally. It's crying out for attention and assistance, and it's unpredictable.
And so we've got to be very careful in managing the situation. It's not a situation this calls for war. There shouldn't be a war there. It should be able to be handled, but it does have to be handled.
ZAHN: What is it that you think North Korea wants?
CLARK: North Korea needs support for its economy, and it needs some support as it tries to figure out a path for its own survival as a regime. Trying to deal with the south in the late 1990s, there were discussions with the United States. There was a sort of an opening, a thaw with the sunshine policy with the south. The United States put the chill on that and then confronted them. They admitted they had nuclear materials. The bomb came out of the closet, so to speak. It's all about rhetoric and diplomacy and bargaining leverage.
And the North Koreans are some of the toughest and least -- by our standards, least rational bargainers we've ever dealt with. We found that 50 years ago in trying to end the Korean War, they bargained by force, and so it's not surprising you'd see that statement coming out from North Korea this morning about their army being ready. They listened to what Secretary Rumsfeld said. So we don't need an escalating war of words. What we need is a way that the North Koreans can back down without appearing to back down.
ZAHN: In the meantime, Secretary Rumsfeld is playing it very tough, saying yesterday that the U.S. is perfectly capable of defeating two enemies at the same time, Iraq and North Korea. Let's review what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: We are capable of fighting two major regional conflicts as the national strategy and the force sizing construct clearly indicates. We are capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case of the other and let there be no doubt about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Do you have any doubts about the U.S.'s ability to wage a war on terror at same time, potentially waging a war on Iraq and North Korea?
CLARK: No. I don't have any doubts. That is our strategy. Those are our capabilities, but it's a whole lot better to use diplomacy backed on force than simply to use force. Since we're moving into this year, what we have to be conscious of is the interplay between Iraq and North Korea. It's very clear that Saddam Hussein is very much aware of North Korea, and of course the North Koreans are very much aware of U.S. policy in the Middle East and what we're doing that there.
And so what we don't want to get ourselves in the middle of is the diplomatic jockeying and the escalation between the two theaters, and that's why I think the administration's strategy seems to be keep the North Korean problem as low key as possible, focus on Iraq, and then there will be a decision-making period in January when they decide the administration decides whether to move ahead and try to solve the problem in Iraq by intensifying the U.N. inspections and finding the violation, and moving ahead to use force, while it holds off the North Korean challenge.
ZAHN: Just trying to think of what lies ahead for all of us in January. It's going to be busy month, isn't it, general?
CLARK: It really is going to be an interesting and difficult time.
ZAHN: We hope things cool off in the next 24 hours, so you can spend time with your family tomorrow. Again, merry Christmas, and thanks for joining us on Christmas Eve here.
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 December 24, 2002 - 09:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk about our big story this morning, a stern warning from North Korea to the U.S. Pyongyang says its forces are up to the task of defending -- or defeating, that is, any enemy. The comment comes a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the U.S. is capable of going to war with North Korea and Iraq at the same time, if necessary.
Joining us from Little Rock, Arkansas to discuss the latest on North Korea and Iraq, CNN military analyst General Wesley Clark.
Thanks for joining us on the holiday. Merry Christmas.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK, (RET.) CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Merry Christmas, Paula.
ZAHN: Are you ready?
CLARK: I'm ready. I did my shopping.
ZAHN: See, he's one of the day guys that doesn't wait until the last minute.
So, general, let's talk about what a senior White House official told us yesterday, that the strategic risk posed by North Korea at the moment is not that great. You don't agree with that assessment. Why?
CLARK: I think that the North Koreans, you've got an army that's poised near the demilitarized zone. It's about a million-man army. It's very strong. They have no desire to attack. There hasn't been a war on the Korean peninsula for over half a century, but this is a regime which is collapsing, failing regime internally. It's crying out for attention and assistance, and it's unpredictable.
And so we've got to be very careful in managing the situation. It's not a situation this calls for war. There shouldn't be a war there. It should be able to be handled, but it does have to be handled.
ZAHN: What is it that you think North Korea wants?
CLARK: North Korea needs support for its economy, and it needs some support as it tries to figure out a path for its own survival as a regime. Trying to deal with the south in the late 1990s, there were discussions with the United States. There was a sort of an opening, a thaw with the sunshine policy with the south. The United States put the chill on that and then confronted them. They admitted they had nuclear materials. The bomb came out of the closet, so to speak. It's all about rhetoric and diplomacy and bargaining leverage.
And the North Koreans are some of the toughest and least -- by our standards, least rational bargainers we've ever dealt with. We found that 50 years ago in trying to end the Korean War, they bargained by force, and so it's not surprising you'd see that statement coming out from North Korea this morning about their army being ready. They listened to what Secretary Rumsfeld said. So we don't need an escalating war of words. What we need is a way that the North Koreans can back down without appearing to back down.
ZAHN: In the meantime, Secretary Rumsfeld is playing it very tough, saying yesterday that the U.S. is perfectly capable of defeating two enemies at the same time, Iraq and North Korea. Let's review what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: We are capable of fighting two major regional conflicts as the national strategy and the force sizing construct clearly indicates. We are capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case of the other and let there be no doubt about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Do you have any doubts about the U.S.'s ability to wage a war on terror at same time, potentially waging a war on Iraq and North Korea?
CLARK: No. I don't have any doubts. That is our strategy. Those are our capabilities, but it's a whole lot better to use diplomacy backed on force than simply to use force. Since we're moving into this year, what we have to be conscious of is the interplay between Iraq and North Korea. It's very clear that Saddam Hussein is very much aware of North Korea, and of course the North Koreans are very much aware of U.S. policy in the Middle East and what we're doing that there.
And so what we don't want to get ourselves in the middle of is the diplomatic jockeying and the escalation between the two theaters, and that's why I think the administration's strategy seems to be keep the North Korean problem as low key as possible, focus on Iraq, and then there will be a decision-making period in January when they decide the administration decides whether to move ahead and try to solve the problem in Iraq by intensifying the U.N. inspections and finding the violation, and moving ahead to use force, while it holds off the North Korean challenge.
ZAHN: Just trying to think of what lies ahead for all of us in January. It's going to be busy month, isn't it, general?
CLARK: It really is going to be an interesting and difficult time.
ZAHN: We hope things cool off in the next 24 hours, so you can spend time with your family tomorrow. Again, merry Christmas, and thanks for joining us on Christmas Eve here.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
