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American Morning
Check Please
Aired October 24, 2003 - 09:03 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Madrid this morning, a moment of reckoning. Delegates from about 60 countries revealing how much money they are willing to pledge for the reconstruction of Iraq.
Back to Madrid and Sheila MacVicar, who's trying to add up the numbers as best she can so far.
Sheila, hello again.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
Good morning. Indeed, we are trying to keep track of those numbers. The session is under way again. We have various nations coming up to the podium and announcing how much they are prepared to pledge.
We heard from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier today, urging all nations present to give generously. Now, not all nations can afford to give generously. We're hearing from smaller nations like Nicaragua or Tunisia, that they will help with technical assistance, with sending medical personnel. And we are hearing from some of those big donors, a billion dollars pledged by Saudi Arabia, $1.5 billion from Japan. And of course we know that the United States has already put a package of about $20 billion on the table. Big numbers, indeed.
But here's the question, when is this money available? And how many of these countries that are pledging these donations are today prepared to sit down and write the checks to provide the funds that Iraq needs in the year 2004.
There is a view that the large sum of money that's been talked about, that $55 billion, $56 billion until the year 2007, that if Iraq's infrastructure gets up and running, if that oil flows more quickly, and oil revenues go up, then Iraq will be able to pay for much of the reconstruction itself.
The real issue now is, how much of this is cash? How much of it is available now? How much of it is available through the year 2004? And the next question, of course will be collecting on those pledges, something that we know as difficult from the Afghanistan round of fund-raising -- Bill.
HEMMER: Indeed you're right. Sheila MacVicar, thanks, live in Madrid.
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 October 24, 2003 - 09:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Madrid this morning, a moment of reckoning. Delegates from about 60 countries revealing how much money they are willing to pledge for the reconstruction of Iraq.
Back to Madrid and Sheila MacVicar, who's trying to add up the numbers as best she can so far.
Sheila, hello again.
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
Good morning. Indeed, we are trying to keep track of those numbers. The session is under way again. We have various nations coming up to the podium and announcing how much they are prepared to pledge.
We heard from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier today, urging all nations present to give generously. Now, not all nations can afford to give generously. We're hearing from smaller nations like Nicaragua or Tunisia, that they will help with technical assistance, with sending medical personnel. And we are hearing from some of those big donors, a billion dollars pledged by Saudi Arabia, $1.5 billion from Japan. And of course we know that the United States has already put a package of about $20 billion on the table. Big numbers, indeed.
But here's the question, when is this money available? And how many of these countries that are pledging these donations are today prepared to sit down and write the checks to provide the funds that Iraq needs in the year 2004.
There is a view that the large sum of money that's been talked about, that $55 billion, $56 billion until the year 2007, that if Iraq's infrastructure gets up and running, if that oil flows more quickly, and oil revenues go up, then Iraq will be able to pay for much of the reconstruction itself.
The real issue now is, how much of this is cash? How much of it is available now? How much of it is available through the year 2004? And the next question, of course will be collecting on those pledges, something that we know as difficult from the Afghanistan round of fund-raising -- Bill.
HEMMER: Indeed you're right. Sheila MacVicar, thanks, live in Madrid.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
