Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
U.S. Confident European Allies Will Answer Call to Arms
Aired January 24, 2003 - 07:04 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: The message from Russia, Germany and France this morning regarding Iraq, war is not the answer, at least not now. But the White House is confident that Europe will answer the call to arms if military action in Iraq is needed.
According to some new polls, Americans now appear less certain about the president's policy. A Wall Street Journal-NBC Polls finds just 32 percent believe the U.S. should take immediate action against Iraq after Monday's inspection report to the U.N. And 61 percent say the inspectors should be given more time.
Let's get the very latest from the White House this morning as the president gets ready to deliver his State of the Union address next week. Dana Bash joins us now live on a very cold Washington, D.C. morning.
Good morning -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. Very cold.
Well, on those polls, just for the record, the White House has said that when questioned about the polls and questioned about public support, winning public support, they said, you know, the president feels that even if there was zero support for going ahead and using military action against Iraq, if he felt that there was a need that he would do it.
But nevertheless, polls are polls, and across the board, they really do show that public support is low, especially without U.N. support. And in the face of criticism from the countries that you mentioned, Paula, like France and Germany and Russia, the administration is making a new case. They have a new line, and they are saying that if you're with us, great; if not, others will be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think we'll have to worry about going it alone. I think that the case is clear. I think that as we move forward, if it can't be solved peacefully and if the U.N. should fail to act -- and I hope that is not the case -- then the United States reserves the right to do what it thinks is appropriate to defend its interests and the interests of its friends in the protected world. And I'm quite confident if it comes to that, we'll be joined by many nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, who are those countries and what the administration calls the coalition of the willing? Well, the White House is naming names now. They say Spain is in that coalition, Italy, some of the former Soviet Republics, and they are saying that all of those countries they believe will be on board. But there is a caveat. They do admit that all of those countries also want a U.N. resolution.
So, a lot of this, Paula, depends on what happens next week at the United Nations, what happens next Monday after the inspectors give their report there.
ZAHN: Dana Bash, thanks for the update -- 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 24, 2003 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The message from Russia, Germany and France this morning regarding Iraq, war is not the answer, at least not now. But the White House is confident that Europe will answer the call to arms if military action in Iraq is needed.
According to some new polls, Americans now appear less certain about the president's policy. A Wall Street Journal-NBC Polls finds just 32 percent believe the U.S. should take immediate action against Iraq after Monday's inspection report to the U.N. And 61 percent say the inspectors should be given more time.
Let's get the very latest from the White House this morning as the president gets ready to deliver his State of the Union address next week. Dana Bash joins us now live on a very cold Washington, D.C. morning.
Good morning -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. Very cold.
Well, on those polls, just for the record, the White House has said that when questioned about the polls and questioned about public support, winning public support, they said, you know, the president feels that even if there was zero support for going ahead and using military action against Iraq, if he felt that there was a need that he would do it.
But nevertheless, polls are polls, and across the board, they really do show that public support is low, especially without U.N. support. And in the face of criticism from the countries that you mentioned, Paula, like France and Germany and Russia, the administration is making a new case. They have a new line, and they are saying that if you're with us, great; if not, others will be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think we'll have to worry about going it alone. I think that the case is clear. I think that as we move forward, if it can't be solved peacefully and if the U.N. should fail to act -- and I hope that is not the case -- then the United States reserves the right to do what it thinks is appropriate to defend its interests and the interests of its friends in the protected world. And I'm quite confident if it comes to that, we'll be joined by many nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, who are those countries and what the administration calls the coalition of the willing? Well, the White House is naming names now. They say Spain is in that coalition, Italy, some of the former Soviet Republics, and they are saying that all of those countries they believe will be on board. But there is a caveat. They do admit that all of those countries also want a U.N. resolution.
So, a lot of this, Paula, depends on what happens next week at the United Nations, what happens next Monday after the inspectors give their report there.
ZAHN: Dana Bash, thanks for the update -- 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.
