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American Morning
Whirlwind Tour
Aired November 28, 2003 - 07:06 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: One of those in the room also in Baghdad as the president arrived was Vivienne Walt of "Time" magazine. She's now with us from the Iraqi capital to talk about this.
First of all, advance it a little bit for us. How much did the Iraqis know of this visit yesterday, and what are they saying today?
VIVIENNE WALT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, yesterday, nobody knew anything, including me. I was invited to have Turkey with ambassador Bremer and the troops, and that's about all we knew. I had a call late Wednesday night asking me to come along and bring a photographer. It was clear security was absolute red alert around the airport, but it is usually, so we didn't think a lot about it. Really, the first anybody knew was when the president walked into the room.
After last night's euphoria, of course, the cynicism has already begun to set in, and talking to Iraqis and reading the newspapers, watching television, a lot are saying this is really all about American politics, it's not really about the Iraqis at all. It's about a president who is running for re-election, coming to gain perhaps this magnificent PR moment. That was really not lost on the Iraqis who are no strangers to cynical politics.
HEMMER: So, you're saying, Vivienne, it meant nothing to them?
WALT: Oh no, I wouldn't say that. I mean, I would say it certainly does mean something to a lot of Iraqis. I mean, I think, you know the very fact that the president would take this amount of risk in coming and landing Air Force One in what is, let's face it, one of the most dangerous cities on the planet right now, I think had quite an impact. For a long time people have felt quite isolated here, not just Iraqis, but also the troops. The communications are very in disarray in this country. People feel a little bit like people in Washington are comfortably making decisions on their behalf. And I think the very fact that he showed up on their turf, whether it's the soldiers' turf or the Iraqis' turf actually, does make an impact.
HEMMER: Vivienne, you described the patient being overwhelmed yesterday in that room. How did you see that?
WALT: Well, if you look, I mean, there was a tear that sort of wobbled on the bottom of his eyelid at one point as he walked in and began speaking. He did seem a little overwhelmed also when he was working the room. It was a very intimate scene. There was really very little security cordoned within the room, because the security outside had been so total. And he really got fairly up close and personal with the soldiers, with the officials, with the Iraqi Governing Council members, and he seemed rather overwhelmed. One thing that has drawn quite a bit of criticism this morning is a shot on Iraqi Television, which showed one of the female governing council members giving the president an appreciative kiss on the cheek after his address, something which obviously was a little jolting to the local population.
HEMMER: Interesting juxtaposition there. Vivienne Walt, "Time" magazine, 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 November 28, 2003 - 07:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: One of those in the room also in Baghdad as the president arrived was Vivienne Walt of "Time" magazine. She's now with us from the Iraqi capital to talk about this.
First of all, advance it a little bit for us. How much did the Iraqis know of this visit yesterday, and what are they saying today?
VIVIENNE WALT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, yesterday, nobody knew anything, including me. I was invited to have Turkey with ambassador Bremer and the troops, and that's about all we knew. I had a call late Wednesday night asking me to come along and bring a photographer. It was clear security was absolute red alert around the airport, but it is usually, so we didn't think a lot about it. Really, the first anybody knew was when the president walked into the room.
After last night's euphoria, of course, the cynicism has already begun to set in, and talking to Iraqis and reading the newspapers, watching television, a lot are saying this is really all about American politics, it's not really about the Iraqis at all. It's about a president who is running for re-election, coming to gain perhaps this magnificent PR moment. That was really not lost on the Iraqis who are no strangers to cynical politics.
HEMMER: So, you're saying, Vivienne, it meant nothing to them?
WALT: Oh no, I wouldn't say that. I mean, I would say it certainly does mean something to a lot of Iraqis. I mean, I think, you know the very fact that the president would take this amount of risk in coming and landing Air Force One in what is, let's face it, one of the most dangerous cities on the planet right now, I think had quite an impact. For a long time people have felt quite isolated here, not just Iraqis, but also the troops. The communications are very in disarray in this country. People feel a little bit like people in Washington are comfortably making decisions on their behalf. And I think the very fact that he showed up on their turf, whether it's the soldiers' turf or the Iraqis' turf actually, does make an impact.
HEMMER: Vivienne, you described the patient being overwhelmed yesterday in that room. How did you see that?
WALT: Well, if you look, I mean, there was a tear that sort of wobbled on the bottom of his eyelid at one point as he walked in and began speaking. He did seem a little overwhelmed also when he was working the room. It was a very intimate scene. There was really very little security cordoned within the room, because the security outside had been so total. And he really got fairly up close and personal with the soldiers, with the officials, with the Iraqi Governing Council members, and he seemed rather overwhelmed. One thing that has drawn quite a bit of criticism this morning is a shot on Iraqi Television, which showed one of the female governing council members giving the president an appreciative kiss on the cheek after his address, something which obviously was a little jolting to the local population.
HEMMER: Interesting juxtaposition there. Vivienne Walt, "Time" magazine, 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
