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American Morning

Interview with Condoleezza Rice

Aired November 28, 2003 - 08:02   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.


HEMMER: I wanted welcome our international viewers on CNN International. President Bush back in Texas, today, after that surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad. He was there for about two hours on the ground. And Mr. Bush spoke with members of the Iraqi Governing Council while there, got a war update from U.S. commanders, and thanked about 600 troops for their service in Baghdad.
A listen from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I bring a message on behalf of America. We thank you for your service. We're proud of you. And America stands solidly behind you. You're defeating the terrorists here in Iraq so that we don't have to face them in our own country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice accompanied the president on that trip to Baghdad. She's back in Crawford, Texas, and now live with us here on American Morning.

Dr. Rice, good morning to you. Thanks for your time this morning.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: Good morning. Nice to be with you.

HEMMER: Who's idea was this?

RICE: Well, the whole team had been thinking for sometime about how the president might go to Iraq. We'd talked about it at one point during the summer. But this particular generation of the trip, the one that began when we were on the trip to Asia and we began talking about it with Sandy Card(ph), who said to the president, "thanksgiving is coming up. Do you think you want to go to Baghdad?" It was as simple as that.

The president said, he was interested, but that he had to make absolutely sure that this could be done without undue risk to himself or undue risk to those on the ground. And so, there was a long planning effort led by Deputy Chief of Staff, Joe Hagan, who did all the work and did all of the assessment. The president, finally, on Wednesday morning -- with vice president Cheney, with Andy Card(ph), and myself -- looked at the arrangements one last time and said, yes, he thought it was a go. HEMMER: Yes, with this cargo plane last week and the DHL cargo plane -- you know was hit by a surface air missile flying in and out of that same airport -- did that give you pause or second thoughts at that point?

RICE: Well, people took a second look at that point, obviously. It was not he first time that there had been concerns about aircraft coming in and out of Baghdad International Airport. So, yes, it was looked at again, but it was decided that the plane was well defended and that the president could do this as long as the operational security was maintained, as long as there wasn't advance notice that he was coming in. And that was the reason for the extraordinary secrecy.

HEMMER: You know your title, Adviser of National Security, why would you advise the President of the United States to fly into what is considered to be probably the most dangerous place on the planet today?

RICE: The President of the United States is the commander-in- chief and he felt strongly, and I think we agreed completely -- and by the way, his entire national security team believed -- that to go to these troops who are on the front line in the war on terrorism. To say to the, America stands with you and is proud of your service.

To have an opportunity to do that in person on Thanksgiving Day, and to be able to deliver a message also to the Iraqi people also that, while the coalition has defeated Saddam Hussein and overthrown him from power, it is now up to the Iraqi people with our help to secure their democratic future. Those were messages that needed to be delivered. And really, the only messenger that made sense was the President of the United States.

And I can tell you, Bill, sitting with those men and women in uniform and talking with them, it did a lot for them -- as it did for all of us -- for the president to be there with them. It was a very important thing to do.

HEMMER: Dr, Rice -- quickly -- how often were you and the president asked, how long will we be staying here? When can we go home?

RICE: I was not asked that question once. What I was told during the time that I was there with the troops is that, you know, they think about their families and, but they mostly about their mission. And they were really hardened by the president being there.

I know that it's hard on families and I know that it's hard on the troops. And we've had to take some sacrifices in this cause. But the president knows and we all know that nothing of lasting value is ever borne without sacrifice. And this is for the security of America, for the security of America in the future and it's well worth doing. And that's what the president wanted to say to the forces yesterday and I think he got the chance to do that.

HEMMER: On a political note, there's this tug-of-war you're well aware of right now, as to when Iraq should hold elections. Right now, it appears that there's a big push for this June to hold national elections. Is that acceptable to you in the White House?

RICE: The plan that the governing council adopted last week that would go to a transitional arrangement, based probably on caucuses of some kind to get an interim legislature to which sovereignty could then be transferred, is a good plan. But obviously, in its implementation there's going to be a lot of debate and a lot of discussion about how to move forward. That's only natural in the democratic process. I know that Jerry Bremer and his people are in contact with a wide variety of Iraqis and Iraqi leadership, who have an interest in this, and I'm quite certain that in the end this plan is going to implemented in way that really does give to the Iraqi people the kind of voice that they need.

Recognizing that this is an interim step. That eventually, they will need to have a permanent constitution and nationwide elections. But this is an interim step and it's a good plan, and Jerry Bremer is working very hard with all concerned parties. And it's a good thing that there is debate and discussion about it.

HEMMER: Dr. Rice. Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser, now back in Crawford, Texas. Thanks for your time. Nice to talk with you.

RICE: Good to be with you.

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 - 08:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEMMER: I wanted welcome our international viewers on CNN International. President Bush back in Texas, today, after that surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad. He was there for about two hours on the ground. And Mr. Bush spoke with members of the Iraqi Governing Council while there, got a war update from U.S. commanders, and thanked about 600 troops for their service in Baghdad.
A listen from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I bring a message on behalf of America. We thank you for your service. We're proud of you. And America stands solidly behind you. You're defeating the terrorists here in Iraq so that we don't have to face them in our own country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice accompanied the president on that trip to Baghdad. She's back in Crawford, Texas, and now live with us here on American Morning.

Dr. Rice, good morning to you. Thanks for your time this morning.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: Good morning. Nice to be with you.

HEMMER: Who's idea was this?

RICE: Well, the whole team had been thinking for sometime about how the president might go to Iraq. We'd talked about it at one point during the summer. But this particular generation of the trip, the one that began when we were on the trip to Asia and we began talking about it with Sandy Card(ph), who said to the president, "thanksgiving is coming up. Do you think you want to go to Baghdad?" It was as simple as that.

The president said, he was interested, but that he had to make absolutely sure that this could be done without undue risk to himself or undue risk to those on the ground. And so, there was a long planning effort led by Deputy Chief of Staff, Joe Hagan, who did all the work and did all of the assessment. The president, finally, on Wednesday morning -- with vice president Cheney, with Andy Card(ph), and myself -- looked at the arrangements one last time and said, yes, he thought it was a go. HEMMER: Yes, with this cargo plane last week and the DHL cargo plane -- you know was hit by a surface air missile flying in and out of that same airport -- did that give you pause or second thoughts at that point?

RICE: Well, people took a second look at that point, obviously. It was not he first time that there had been concerns about aircraft coming in and out of Baghdad International Airport. So, yes, it was looked at again, but it was decided that the plane was well defended and that the president could do this as long as the operational security was maintained, as long as there wasn't advance notice that he was coming in. And that was the reason for the extraordinary secrecy.

HEMMER: You know your title, Adviser of National Security, why would you advise the President of the United States to fly into what is considered to be probably the most dangerous place on the planet today?

RICE: The President of the United States is the commander-in- chief and he felt strongly, and I think we agreed completely -- and by the way, his entire national security team believed -- that to go to these troops who are on the front line in the war on terrorism. To say to the, America stands with you and is proud of your service.

To have an opportunity to do that in person on Thanksgiving Day, and to be able to deliver a message also to the Iraqi people also that, while the coalition has defeated Saddam Hussein and overthrown him from power, it is now up to the Iraqi people with our help to secure their democratic future. Those were messages that needed to be delivered. And really, the only messenger that made sense was the President of the United States.

And I can tell you, Bill, sitting with those men and women in uniform and talking with them, it did a lot for them -- as it did for all of us -- for the president to be there with them. It was a very important thing to do.

HEMMER: Dr, Rice -- quickly -- how often were you and the president asked, how long will we be staying here? When can we go home?

RICE: I was not asked that question once. What I was told during the time that I was there with the troops is that, you know, they think about their families and, but they mostly about their mission. And they were really hardened by the president being there.

I know that it's hard on families and I know that it's hard on the troops. And we've had to take some sacrifices in this cause. But the president knows and we all know that nothing of lasting value is ever borne without sacrifice. And this is for the security of America, for the security of America in the future and it's well worth doing. And that's what the president wanted to say to the forces yesterday and I think he got the chance to do that.

HEMMER: On a political note, there's this tug-of-war you're well aware of right now, as to when Iraq should hold elections. Right now, it appears that there's a big push for this June to hold national elections. Is that acceptable to you in the White House?

RICE: The plan that the governing council adopted last week that would go to a transitional arrangement, based probably on caucuses of some kind to get an interim legislature to which sovereignty could then be transferred, is a good plan. But obviously, in its implementation there's going to be a lot of debate and a lot of discussion about how to move forward. That's only natural in the democratic process. I know that Jerry Bremer and his people are in contact with a wide variety of Iraqis and Iraqi leadership, who have an interest in this, and I'm quite certain that in the end this plan is going to implemented in way that really does give to the Iraqi people the kind of voice that they need.

Recognizing that this is an interim step. That eventually, they will need to have a permanent constitution and nationwide elections. But this is an interim step and it's a good plan, and Jerry Bremer is working very hard with all concerned parties. And it's a good thing that there is debate and discussion about it.

HEMMER: Dr. Rice. Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser, now back in Crawford, Texas. Thanks for your time. Nice to talk with you.

RICE: Good to be with you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com