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American Morning
Bush, Blair, United They Stand
Aired July 17, 2003 - 07:17 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush's staunchest ally in the war in Iraq arrives in Washington, D.C. today. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who, like the president, is facing his own problems at home over the war, will address Congress this afternoon before going on to the White House.
CNN's Dana Bash is there. She joins us with a preview of Mr. Blair's visit this morning.
Good morning to you -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, these are two men who bonded over the fact that they both used Colgate toothpaste at their first official meeting, and now the two men face the biggest challenge to not only their relationship, but also because of challenges back at home over pre-war intelligence, as you mentioned.
Now, while President Bush has had to admit that U.S. intelligence can't back up the claim that he made in the State of the Union that Iraq was trying to get uranium from Africa, the British do stand by that claim, saying that they have sources that the U.S. simply don't have. And administration officials are expecting Prime Minister Blair to defend that claim and to defend more broadly the whole reason for going to war against Iraq, much as you have heard from President Bush over the last week as he has been under fire.
We can expect the two men to talk about the need to go into countries around the world that pose threats, and that is what Prime Minister Blair will discuss when he talks to a joint meeting of Congress. He will talk about the need to stay in countries, like Iraq and Afghanistan, and the importance of U.S. relationships with European countries -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: When he goes, Dana, to that joint meeting in Congress, do you expect he will also discuss the uranium issue, which obviously is both a big deal here in the U.S. and overseas?
BASH: I'm told he won't specifically address that issue in his address to Congress. He might perhaps address the issue when he appears with President Bush here at the White House, particularly because he's going to be facing reporters who are, for sure, going to be asking that question -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: One quick last question for you. Of course, there is a lot of pressure on the British government to hand over that intelligence that is now at the center of all this controversy. What are the expectations, Dana, that that would actually happen?
BASH: The expectations aren't very high actually, because the British say that they got their intelligence from another country, and therefore they are prevented from sharing that intelligence with the United States. The U.S. and Great Britain share intelligence constantly, but this is one issue where the British just say that they can't help the United States and give over their sources.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Dana Bash at the White House for us. Dana, thanks.
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 July 17, 2003 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush's staunchest ally in the war in Iraq arrives in Washington, D.C. today. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who, like the president, is facing his own problems at home over the war, will address Congress this afternoon before going on to the White House.
CNN's Dana Bash is there. She joins us with a preview of Mr. Blair's visit this morning.
Good morning to you -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, these are two men who bonded over the fact that they both used Colgate toothpaste at their first official meeting, and now the two men face the biggest challenge to not only their relationship, but also because of challenges back at home over pre-war intelligence, as you mentioned.
Now, while President Bush has had to admit that U.S. intelligence can't back up the claim that he made in the State of the Union that Iraq was trying to get uranium from Africa, the British do stand by that claim, saying that they have sources that the U.S. simply don't have. And administration officials are expecting Prime Minister Blair to defend that claim and to defend more broadly the whole reason for going to war against Iraq, much as you have heard from President Bush over the last week as he has been under fire.
We can expect the two men to talk about the need to go into countries around the world that pose threats, and that is what Prime Minister Blair will discuss when he talks to a joint meeting of Congress. He will talk about the need to stay in countries, like Iraq and Afghanistan, and the importance of U.S. relationships with European countries -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: When he goes, Dana, to that joint meeting in Congress, do you expect he will also discuss the uranium issue, which obviously is both a big deal here in the U.S. and overseas?
BASH: I'm told he won't specifically address that issue in his address to Congress. He might perhaps address the issue when he appears with President Bush here at the White House, particularly because he's going to be facing reporters who are, for sure, going to be asking that question -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: One quick last question for you. Of course, there is a lot of pressure on the British government to hand over that intelligence that is now at the center of all this controversy. What are the expectations, Dana, that that would actually happen?
BASH: The expectations aren't very high actually, because the British say that they got their intelligence from another country, and therefore they are prevented from sharing that intelligence with the United States. The U.S. and Great Britain share intelligence constantly, but this is one issue where the British just say that they can't help the United States and give over their sources.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Dana Bash at the White House for us. Dana, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
