Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Sixty Thousand More U.S. Troops Being Sent to Persian Gulf Region
Aired March 04, 2003 - 08:04 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: More on our top story now, what could be the countdown to war. Sixty thousand more U.S. troops being sent to the Persian Gulf region. The White House may push for a U.N. vote as early as next week on a resolution that would authorize military action against Iraq.
Let's turn to John King, who joins us from the White House with the very latest from there -- good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
And as the administration seeks a vote at the U.N. Security Council, some officials say it is possible at the last minute the United States will say never mind. If it does not have the votes, it will not seek one in the Security Council. But the current plan is to seek a vote early next week.
Friday, Dr. Hans Blix, the chief inspector, will brief the Security Council. One week from today is a tentative target for a vote in the Security Council on that new resolution. One of the big items of debate is does Iraq's decision to destroy some of these al- Samoud 2 missiles prove that it is now cooperating with the inspectors? Some say yes. But the White House, though, clearly says no.
This is a document put out every day by the White House Office of Global Communications. It is essentially the White House talking points in the debate over Iraq. In this document, the White House says OK, Iraq is destroying al-Samoud 2 missiles. But what about 26,000 liters of anthrax it is known to have? What about 38,000 liters of botulinin toxin? What about many other things, including 550 artillery shells filled with mustard gas.
So clearly the White House trying to make the case that Iraq's sudden cooperation now is far from complete and total disarmament.
We did not hear from the president yesterday, but he did sit down with reporters from a number of newspapers around the country. And one of the issues he addressed was his past dismissal of the anti-war protesters here in the United States. Many were critical. They said the president did not appear to be giving those protesters, not listening to the protests. The president saying in these interviews yesterday, he, "I care what they believe and I've listened carefully. We just have a difference of opinion."
Also interesting from that roundtable with reporters, the president's language on the stand-off with North Korea. We learned just yesterday that over the weekend four North Korean MIG fighters shadowed a U.S. reconnaissance plane just off the coast of Korea. The president saying in this interview, these interviews yesterday, that he hopes this can all be resolved diplomatically. But somewhat tougher language from the president. The president said, "It's in process," meaning the diplomatic efforts, "If they don't work diplomatically, they'll have to work militarily. and the military option is our last choice. Options are on the table, but I believe we can deal with this diplomatically. I truly do."
So as the president reaches key decisions on war with Iraq, the administration also planning a formal protest of North Korea's decision to send up those MIGs to shadow that U.S. reconnaissance plane. Quite a bit on the president's plate. We didn't hear from him yesterday. He does give a big health care speech today. We'll see if he addresses these international issues, as well -- Paula.
ZAHN: Is he inclined to have any reaction to the very important speech that is being billed by Senator Ted Kennedy at 10:00, a man who's been very critical of the president, particularly when it comes to the administration's post-war scenario. Here's a quote from it. "Surely we can have effective relationships with other nations without adopting a chip on the shoulder, my way or the highway policy that makes all of our other goals in the world more difficult to achieve."
How does the president plan to counter that or will they react at all?
KING: Well, whether the president himself will, we don't know as yet. Obviously, if we got a chance to ask a question, we might ask about it. What the administration says, though, daily is that such criticism is unfair. There's this perception sometimes in the world and sometimes in the politics here at home that this is President Bush versus Iraq. The White House says that's not true, that Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia, a number of nations in the Gulf region are aligned with the president in this fight. But that certainly is one of the complications as the president tries to rally not only world opinion, but American public opinion for the possibility of war within a week, 10 days, two weeks, is that some critics say that he has just decided to go forward with this and he's not paying attention to the polls.
ZAHN: John King, thanks so much.
John reporting from the White House 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
Region>
Aired March 4, 2003 - 08:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: More on our top story now, what could be the countdown to war. Sixty thousand more U.S. troops being sent to the Persian Gulf region. The White House may push for a U.N. vote as early as next week on a resolution that would authorize military action against Iraq.
Let's turn to John King, who joins us from the White House with the very latest from there -- good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
And as the administration seeks a vote at the U.N. Security Council, some officials say it is possible at the last minute the United States will say never mind. If it does not have the votes, it will not seek one in the Security Council. But the current plan is to seek a vote early next week.
Friday, Dr. Hans Blix, the chief inspector, will brief the Security Council. One week from today is a tentative target for a vote in the Security Council on that new resolution. One of the big items of debate is does Iraq's decision to destroy some of these al- Samoud 2 missiles prove that it is now cooperating with the inspectors? Some say yes. But the White House, though, clearly says no.
This is a document put out every day by the White House Office of Global Communications. It is essentially the White House talking points in the debate over Iraq. In this document, the White House says OK, Iraq is destroying al-Samoud 2 missiles. But what about 26,000 liters of anthrax it is known to have? What about 38,000 liters of botulinin toxin? What about many other things, including 550 artillery shells filled with mustard gas.
So clearly the White House trying to make the case that Iraq's sudden cooperation now is far from complete and total disarmament.
We did not hear from the president yesterday, but he did sit down with reporters from a number of newspapers around the country. And one of the issues he addressed was his past dismissal of the anti-war protesters here in the United States. Many were critical. They said the president did not appear to be giving those protesters, not listening to the protests. The president saying in these interviews yesterday, he, "I care what they believe and I've listened carefully. We just have a difference of opinion."
Also interesting from that roundtable with reporters, the president's language on the stand-off with North Korea. We learned just yesterday that over the weekend four North Korean MIG fighters shadowed a U.S. reconnaissance plane just off the coast of Korea. The president saying in this interview, these interviews yesterday, that he hopes this can all be resolved diplomatically. But somewhat tougher language from the president. The president said, "It's in process," meaning the diplomatic efforts, "If they don't work diplomatically, they'll have to work militarily. and the military option is our last choice. Options are on the table, but I believe we can deal with this diplomatically. I truly do."
So as the president reaches key decisions on war with Iraq, the administration also planning a formal protest of North Korea's decision to send up those MIGs to shadow that U.S. reconnaissance plane. Quite a bit on the president's plate. We didn't hear from him yesterday. He does give a big health care speech today. We'll see if he addresses these international issues, as well -- Paula.
ZAHN: Is he inclined to have any reaction to the very important speech that is being billed by Senator Ted Kennedy at 10:00, a man who's been very critical of the president, particularly when it comes to the administration's post-war scenario. Here's a quote from it. "Surely we can have effective relationships with other nations without adopting a chip on the shoulder, my way or the highway policy that makes all of our other goals in the world more difficult to achieve."
How does the president plan to counter that or will they react at all?
KING: Well, whether the president himself will, we don't know as yet. Obviously, if we got a chance to ask a question, we might ask about it. What the administration says, though, daily is that such criticism is unfair. There's this perception sometimes in the world and sometimes in the politics here at home that this is President Bush versus Iraq. The White House says that's not true, that Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia, a number of nations in the Gulf region are aligned with the president in this fight. But that certainly is one of the complications as the president tries to rally not only world opinion, but American public opinion for the possibility of war within a week, 10 days, two weeks, is that some critics say that he has just decided to go forward with this and he's not paying attention to the polls.
ZAHN: John King, thanks so much.
John reporting from the White House 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
Region>
