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American Morning
President Bush Says Burden of Proof Now on Baghdad
Aired January 15, 2003 - 07:31 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: Now to Iraq, where weapons inspectors searched Saddam Hussein's main presidential palace today. President Bush says the burden of proof now is on Baghdad, not the inspectors, saying, "Time is running out on Saddam Hussein." That as national security adviser Condoleezza Rice met with Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix, trying to convince him that Iraqi scientists should be interviewed outside of the country.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says he is still optimistic, saying, "I remain convinced that peace is possible in Iraq."
Let's check in with Dana Bash, who's standing by at the White House, and a very cold day there, too, indeed -- good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very cold day.
Good morning, Paula.
Well, the president's words weren't all necessarily new, but the way he said it, the way he said that for Saddam Hussein time is running out, you could hear the frustration in his voice and the lack of patience.
Let's hear what he had to say yesterday in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The world came together and we have given him one last chance to disarm. So far I haven't seen any evidence that he is disarming. Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, Paula, this appeared to be a message not just to Saddam Hussein, who aides are saying has the onus, the onus is on Saddam Hussein, they're saying, to prove that he doesn't have weapons of mass destruction, not necessarily the weapons inspectors. But it also appeared to be frustration or impatience with regard to some of the comments we're hearing from U.S. allies, but also officials at the U.N., urging more time, saying that the inspectors need more time, perhaps a couple more months.
Today, Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA chief, was in Russia and he, while he said that Iraq does need to comply, he also once again said that the inspectors do need more time to go to work to visit some of the sites in Iraq, to try to find the weapons of mass destruction there.
This is all leading up to January 27th, which is when the U.N. report is due. Administration officials are saying that's not a date but it certainly is an important day for determining the timetable from there on out with regard to Iraq -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks.
Dana Bash reporting from the White House this morning.
Appreciate it.
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 January 15, 2003 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to Iraq, where weapons inspectors searched Saddam Hussein's main presidential palace today. President Bush says the burden of proof now is on Baghdad, not the inspectors, saying, "Time is running out on Saddam Hussein." That as national security adviser Condoleezza Rice met with Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix, trying to convince him that Iraqi scientists should be interviewed outside of the country.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan says he is still optimistic, saying, "I remain convinced that peace is possible in Iraq."
Let's check in with Dana Bash, who's standing by at the White House, and a very cold day there, too, indeed -- good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very cold day.
Good morning, Paula.
Well, the president's words weren't all necessarily new, but the way he said it, the way he said that for Saddam Hussein time is running out, you could hear the frustration in his voice and the lack of patience.
Let's hear what he had to say yesterday in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The world came together and we have given him one last chance to disarm. So far I haven't seen any evidence that he is disarming. Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, Paula, this appeared to be a message not just to Saddam Hussein, who aides are saying has the onus, the onus is on Saddam Hussein, they're saying, to prove that he doesn't have weapons of mass destruction, not necessarily the weapons inspectors. But it also appeared to be frustration or impatience with regard to some of the comments we're hearing from U.S. allies, but also officials at the U.N., urging more time, saying that the inspectors need more time, perhaps a couple more months.
Today, Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA chief, was in Russia and he, while he said that Iraq does need to comply, he also once again said that the inspectors do need more time to go to work to visit some of the sites in Iraq, to try to find the weapons of mass destruction there.
This is all leading up to January 27th, which is when the U.N. report is due. Administration officials are saying that's not a date but it certainly is an important day for determining the timetable from there on out with regard to Iraq -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks.
Dana Bash reporting from the White House this morning.
Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
