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American Morning
Interview with Senators Bill Nelson, Jeff Sessions
Aired March 18, 2003 - 07:47 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: If you've been watching us this morning, this will come as no great surprise to you that Saddam Hussein has rejected President Bush's exile ultimatum last night in his speech giving him and his two sons 48 hours to leave the country. Now that is the lead story on Iraqi state television.
So, with diplomacy dead, the president's critics and supporters in Congress are closing ranks to show their support for U.S. forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war, and very measure will be taken to win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Joining us now from Washington with reaction to the president's ultimatum and what might lie ahead, two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Florida Democrat Bill Nelson.
Thank you both for taking time out of your very busy day to be with us this morning -- welcome.
Senator Nelson, I'm going to start with you this morning. I wanted you to react to something Senator Daschle had to say yesterday when it became very clear that diplomacy was dead -- let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war, saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Senator Nelson, do Senator Daschle's remarks reflect the sentiments of the Democratic Party?
SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Paula, it's his sentiment, and it's the sentiment of all of us that it's time to close ranks. What I think Tom Daschle was trying to say was that we are the pre-imminent power at the heights of our power in the world, and there just isn't any sense that allies, strong allies of ours, have this high percentage of anti-American sentiment. And if we had handled it diplomatically differently, we could have a lot more of the world's nations behind us. But it's time to close ranks now.
ZAHN: Senator Sessions, let me ask your reaction to some of what the president had to say last night, challenging national security strategies that have been in place for more than 50 years, saying that to wait to act after America's enemies have struck is -- quote -- "Not self-defense; it is suicide."
What do you think of his shift to a preemptive military doctrine?
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Paula, that's a very deeply held view of how September 11 changed his and our view of what happened. We simply cannot sit by and allow a hostile nation to plan attacks on us, and then wait for it to happen. That's what he declared as suicide, not self-defense, to wait to be attacked first. I think that is a fundamental principle that we need to -- a historical principle of international law.
But I would note that with regard to Iraq, we have such a history of ongoing conflict with them, a history of the United Nations resolutions being violated that it's almost a different category. You could justify military action here, both as a continuation of the '91 war and as a preemptive act.
ZAHN: Senator Sessions, I wanted to ask you to react to something that one of your colleagues, Senator Biden, had to tell "USA Today," when he said -- quote: "This is the boldest roll of the dice any president has done in the last 30 years since I've been a senator, and I would argue since 1947. It is bold and it is dangerous."
SESSIONS: Well, we should not underestimate the boldness of the action in the sense that President Bush is saying the United States will play a leading role in the world, and that we will not just simply allow the lowest common denominator at the United Nations to decide how our power will be utilized. He believes that the wise and careful application of American power at critical times can be a step toward peace and security and stability in the world.
So to that extent, I think it does reflect somewhat of a change in American policy.
ZAHN: Senator Nelson, in closing this morning, just some of your thoughts about what Senator Sessions just had to say about the "wise application" of our power around the world. What are your chief concerns about this preemptive doctrine?
NELSON: Well, Joe Biden was right. This is a bold move, because there are so many challenges facing us. And although I dont expect this military conflict to be long in Iraq, we're going to be involved in that part of the world for quite a period of time. And then if that's not enough, we've got the challenge of North Korea, now possibly a nuclearized Iran. In all of these areas of the world we're going to have to be involved for a long time to stabilize them economically and politically. ZAHN: Gentlemen, we're going to have to leave it there this morning. Senator Sessions, Senator Nelson...
SESSIONS: Thank you.
ZAHN: ... as always, good to see both of you.
NELSON: Thanks.
ZAHN: We really appreciate your input.
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 March 18, 2003 - 07:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: If you've been watching us this morning, this will come as no great surprise to you that Saddam Hussein has rejected President Bush's exile ultimatum last night in his speech giving him and his two sons 48 hours to leave the country. Now that is the lead story on Iraqi state television.
So, with diplomacy dead, the president's critics and supporters in Congress are closing ranks to show their support for U.S. forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war, and very measure will be taken to win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Joining us now from Washington with reaction to the president's ultimatum and what might lie ahead, two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Florida Democrat Bill Nelson.
Thank you both for taking time out of your very busy day to be with us this morning -- welcome.
Senator Nelson, I'm going to start with you this morning. I wanted you to react to something Senator Daschle had to say yesterday when it became very clear that diplomacy was dead -- let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war, saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Senator Nelson, do Senator Daschle's remarks reflect the sentiments of the Democratic Party?
SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Paula, it's his sentiment, and it's the sentiment of all of us that it's time to close ranks. What I think Tom Daschle was trying to say was that we are the pre-imminent power at the heights of our power in the world, and there just isn't any sense that allies, strong allies of ours, have this high percentage of anti-American sentiment. And if we had handled it diplomatically differently, we could have a lot more of the world's nations behind us. But it's time to close ranks now.
ZAHN: Senator Sessions, let me ask your reaction to some of what the president had to say last night, challenging national security strategies that have been in place for more than 50 years, saying that to wait to act after America's enemies have struck is -- quote -- "Not self-defense; it is suicide."
What do you think of his shift to a preemptive military doctrine?
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Paula, that's a very deeply held view of how September 11 changed his and our view of what happened. We simply cannot sit by and allow a hostile nation to plan attacks on us, and then wait for it to happen. That's what he declared as suicide, not self-defense, to wait to be attacked first. I think that is a fundamental principle that we need to -- a historical principle of international law.
But I would note that with regard to Iraq, we have such a history of ongoing conflict with them, a history of the United Nations resolutions being violated that it's almost a different category. You could justify military action here, both as a continuation of the '91 war and as a preemptive act.
ZAHN: Senator Sessions, I wanted to ask you to react to something that one of your colleagues, Senator Biden, had to tell "USA Today," when he said -- quote: "This is the boldest roll of the dice any president has done in the last 30 years since I've been a senator, and I would argue since 1947. It is bold and it is dangerous."
SESSIONS: Well, we should not underestimate the boldness of the action in the sense that President Bush is saying the United States will play a leading role in the world, and that we will not just simply allow the lowest common denominator at the United Nations to decide how our power will be utilized. He believes that the wise and careful application of American power at critical times can be a step toward peace and security and stability in the world.
So to that extent, I think it does reflect somewhat of a change in American policy.
ZAHN: Senator Nelson, in closing this morning, just some of your thoughts about what Senator Sessions just had to say about the "wise application" of our power around the world. What are your chief concerns about this preemptive doctrine?
NELSON: Well, Joe Biden was right. This is a bold move, because there are so many challenges facing us. And although I dont expect this military conflict to be long in Iraq, we're going to be involved in that part of the world for quite a period of time. And then if that's not enough, we've got the challenge of North Korea, now possibly a nuclearized Iran. In all of these areas of the world we're going to have to be involved for a long time to stabilize them economically and politically. ZAHN: Gentlemen, we're going to have to leave it there this morning. Senator Sessions, Senator Nelson...
SESSIONS: Thank you.
ZAHN: ... as always, good to see both of you.
NELSON: Thanks.
ZAHN: We really appreciate your input.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
