Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
White House Perspective Going into U.N. Report
Aired February 14, 2003 - 07:29 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're going to check in with Bill Hemmer right now. For those of you who weren't with us at the top of the hour, he has been on the ground in Kuwait for several days. And this morning we find him at Camp Grizzly -- good morning, Bill.
Happy Valentine's Day.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, well, thank you. And happy Valentine's to you, as well.
Listen here, we are with the Marines today. Yesterday we were with the Army, about 30 miles from the Iraqi border, literally in the middle of nowhere. Two weeks ago, Paula, there was nothing here. Now there's about 6,000 Marines.
This is Lance Corporal Chris Comfort.
How are you, pal?
LANCE CORPORAL CHRIS COMFORT: Doing fine, sir.
HEMMER: Out of Florida, right?
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Nice to see you.
The reason we're talking to Chris Comfort -- great name for this segment, by the way.
COMFORT: Thank you, sir.
HEMMER: This is a two man tent. Two guys sleep in this thing every night, is that right?
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: How much sleep do you get here?
COMFORT: Well, right now, sir, anywhere from 10 to 12 hours, sir.
HEMMER: You're getting 10 to 12 hours of sleep here?
COMFORT: Well, we're not doing much, sir, right now. We're just kind of hanging out waiting for word to go over the border.
HEMMER: So half the day you're spending inside this tent here?
COMFORT: Pretty much, sir.
HEMMER: Is that comfortable?
COMFORT: Not really, sir.
HEMMER: Yes.
COMFORT: It's nice sleeping, sir, but it would be better if we were on a bed, sir.
HEMMER: Yes. No kidding. Or even a cot would be better than that, huh?
COMFORT: Oh, yes, sir.
HEMMER: How long does it take before you get used to that? How much can you actually cram inside there? I mean other than two bodies, what do you do?
COMFORT: Well, we have a lot of head room up here, sir, so we can stick some gear up there. But other than that, not much, sir.
HEMMER: And well, you have the appropriate name, Chris Comfort.
COMFORT: Thank you, sir.
HEMMER: Lance Corporal, nice to see you.
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Stay safe, OK?
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Paula, we'll be checking in throughout the hour here. We've got a couple of really interesting coming up for you here, the largest tank in the world, said to be the best tank in the world, too. We'll give you a tour the next half hour here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Paula.
ZAHN: Bill, I'm just curious -- we look forward to that -- just how much talk there is about this very important meeting at the U.N. today and how that might in some ways seal the near term future of many of the men and women that you're going to be talking to this morning.
HEMMER: Yes, when we asked them that exact question, Paula, the news comes in drips and drabs over here. Whatever information they collect spreads through this camp like wildfire. There is no Internet service out here. We're essentially in the middle of nowhere. Whatever news they can pick up by guys who go into town in Kuwait City, they certainly pass that along. Whatever letters or newspapers they get, also. But a lot of times those letters and newspapers are way outdated. Word spreads fast out here. The talk of war is all over the place out here. But these men tell us to a person that they are ready in the event that the president orders them to go north into Iraq.
ZAHN: Well, there certainly seems to be no doubt of their commitment.
Thanks so much, Bill.
See you in a little bit.
Back to our top story this morning, the high stakes Security Council meeting at the U.N. In just a few hours, the top weapons inspectors will give their latest progress reports to a deeply divided Council. With more than a thousand American troops mobilizing near Iraq, this morning's reports arrive at what is perhaps the most critical time.
(NEWS ALERT)
ZAHN: More now on this morning's top story, the report to the U.N. Security Council on weapons inspections in Iraq.
With more on the White House perspective going into the U.N. report, let's check in with John King, who joins us from the White House this morning -- good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
What could be most interesting today is after the Blix report to the Security Council the question and answer period. U.S. officials say they expect a mixed report from the chief weapons inspector. They expect him to say on the one hand Iraq has not fully accounted for its chemical and biological weapons but on the other hand to say recently Iraq has been extending some promises of cooperation.
The White House will make the case that the debate should not be about whether Iraq will cooperate in the future, but what Iraq has done in the past nearly 100 days of inspections. Look for Secretary of State Colin Powell to ask some very tough questions about the level of Iraqi cooperation as he tries to make the case that the inspections regime has been a failure, that Saddam Hussein has no intention of cooperating and that it is time to move on to a debate about the "serious consequences" called for in Security Council Resolution 1441.
One indication of the administration's posture here is that the war planning continues. The president's top military advisers meeting at the White House yesterday. General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, joining those, joining that presentation here to update -- you see the defense secretary there -- to update top officials on the status of the war planning.
And Mr. Bush himself was in Jacksonville, Florida yesterday delivering a pep talk to sailors, many of whom served in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, who could be called on again for a war in the Persian Gulf. The Bush administration within a matter of days, Paula, by early next week, looking at introducing a second resolution in the United Nations Security Council, trying to move this debate away from inspections toward possible military confrontation.
This day, later this morning, a pivotal day in the very difficult diplomacy facing this president -- Paula.
ZAHN: So if it turns out there ends up being military action against Iraq, what is the new timetable the administration would be looking at?
KING: Well, they are very reluctant to share with us any details of a timetable, an exact military timetable, and they, of course, say the president has not made the final decision, because he hopes diplomacy and he hopes for support from the U.N. Security Council. But all indications from administration sources and those involved in the Pentagon's military planning say that the president, over the next two to three weeks, could make a pivotal decision. That is why you see that escalating military buildup in the desert of Kuwait and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, John.
John King reporting from the White House for us this morning.
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 February 14, 2003 - 07:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to check in with Bill Hemmer right now. For those of you who weren't with us at the top of the hour, he has been on the ground in Kuwait for several days. And this morning we find him at Camp Grizzly -- good morning, Bill.
Happy Valentine's Day.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, well, thank you. And happy Valentine's to you, as well.
Listen here, we are with the Marines today. Yesterday we were with the Army, about 30 miles from the Iraqi border, literally in the middle of nowhere. Two weeks ago, Paula, there was nothing here. Now there's about 6,000 Marines.
This is Lance Corporal Chris Comfort.
How are you, pal?
LANCE CORPORAL CHRIS COMFORT: Doing fine, sir.
HEMMER: Out of Florida, right?
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Nice to see you.
The reason we're talking to Chris Comfort -- great name for this segment, by the way.
COMFORT: Thank you, sir.
HEMMER: This is a two man tent. Two guys sleep in this thing every night, is that right?
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: How much sleep do you get here?
COMFORT: Well, right now, sir, anywhere from 10 to 12 hours, sir.
HEMMER: You're getting 10 to 12 hours of sleep here?
COMFORT: Well, we're not doing much, sir, right now. We're just kind of hanging out waiting for word to go over the border.
HEMMER: So half the day you're spending inside this tent here?
COMFORT: Pretty much, sir.
HEMMER: Is that comfortable?
COMFORT: Not really, sir.
HEMMER: Yes.
COMFORT: It's nice sleeping, sir, but it would be better if we were on a bed, sir.
HEMMER: Yes. No kidding. Or even a cot would be better than that, huh?
COMFORT: Oh, yes, sir.
HEMMER: How long does it take before you get used to that? How much can you actually cram inside there? I mean other than two bodies, what do you do?
COMFORT: Well, we have a lot of head room up here, sir, so we can stick some gear up there. But other than that, not much, sir.
HEMMER: And well, you have the appropriate name, Chris Comfort.
COMFORT: Thank you, sir.
HEMMER: Lance Corporal, nice to see you.
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Stay safe, OK?
COMFORT: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Paula, we'll be checking in throughout the hour here. We've got a couple of really interesting coming up for you here, the largest tank in the world, said to be the best tank in the world, too. We'll give you a tour the next half hour here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Paula.
ZAHN: Bill, I'm just curious -- we look forward to that -- just how much talk there is about this very important meeting at the U.N. today and how that might in some ways seal the near term future of many of the men and women that you're going to be talking to this morning.
HEMMER: Yes, when we asked them that exact question, Paula, the news comes in drips and drabs over here. Whatever information they collect spreads through this camp like wildfire. There is no Internet service out here. We're essentially in the middle of nowhere. Whatever news they can pick up by guys who go into town in Kuwait City, they certainly pass that along. Whatever letters or newspapers they get, also. But a lot of times those letters and newspapers are way outdated. Word spreads fast out here. The talk of war is all over the place out here. But these men tell us to a person that they are ready in the event that the president orders them to go north into Iraq.
ZAHN: Well, there certainly seems to be no doubt of their commitment.
Thanks so much, Bill.
See you in a little bit.
Back to our top story this morning, the high stakes Security Council meeting at the U.N. In just a few hours, the top weapons inspectors will give their latest progress reports to a deeply divided Council. With more than a thousand American troops mobilizing near Iraq, this morning's reports arrive at what is perhaps the most critical time.
(NEWS ALERT)
ZAHN: More now on this morning's top story, the report to the U.N. Security Council on weapons inspections in Iraq.
With more on the White House perspective going into the U.N. report, let's check in with John King, who joins us from the White House this morning -- good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
What could be most interesting today is after the Blix report to the Security Council the question and answer period. U.S. officials say they expect a mixed report from the chief weapons inspector. They expect him to say on the one hand Iraq has not fully accounted for its chemical and biological weapons but on the other hand to say recently Iraq has been extending some promises of cooperation.
The White House will make the case that the debate should not be about whether Iraq will cooperate in the future, but what Iraq has done in the past nearly 100 days of inspections. Look for Secretary of State Colin Powell to ask some very tough questions about the level of Iraqi cooperation as he tries to make the case that the inspections regime has been a failure, that Saddam Hussein has no intention of cooperating and that it is time to move on to a debate about the "serious consequences" called for in Security Council Resolution 1441.
One indication of the administration's posture here is that the war planning continues. The president's top military advisers meeting at the White House yesterday. General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, joining those, joining that presentation here to update -- you see the defense secretary there -- to update top officials on the status of the war planning.
And Mr. Bush himself was in Jacksonville, Florida yesterday delivering a pep talk to sailors, many of whom served in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, who could be called on again for a war in the Persian Gulf. The Bush administration within a matter of days, Paula, by early next week, looking at introducing a second resolution in the United Nations Security Council, trying to move this debate away from inspections toward possible military confrontation.
This day, later this morning, a pivotal day in the very difficult diplomacy facing this president -- Paula.
ZAHN: So if it turns out there ends up being military action against Iraq, what is the new timetable the administration would be looking at?
KING: Well, they are very reluctant to share with us any details of a timetable, an exact military timetable, and they, of course, say the president has not made the final decision, because he hopes diplomacy and he hopes for support from the U.N. Security Council. But all indications from administration sources and those involved in the Pentagon's military planning say that the president, over the next two to three weeks, could make a pivotal decision. That is why you see that escalating military buildup in the desert of Kuwait and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, John.
John King reporting from the White House for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
