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American Morning

Intelligence Failures

Aired February 03, 2004 - 07:16   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 is set to appoint a commission later this week that will investigate intelligence failures.
Dana Bash takes a look into what went into the president's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Little more than a week after outgoing weapons inspector David Kay declared weapons of mass destruction likely won't be found in Iraq, President Bush, under mounting political pressure, now says he'll appoint a commission to find out why.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm putting together an independent bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better as we fight this war against terror.

BASH: Mr. Bush invited Dr. Kay to the White House for a private briefing from the man who declared -- quote -- "We were all wrong."

The White House is actively assembling a nine-person panel, which they compare to the Warren Commission set up after JFK's assassination. The panel will focus not just on intelligence in Iraq, but take a broader look at gaps in other crucial areas like North Korea and Iran.

SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: I think the administration recognized that this issue was starting to get ahead of steam with the American people, with members of Congress. And, you know, every once in a while in politics you just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for what's going to happen.

BASH: The White House officials are informally consulting with some in Congress on the commission's makeup and mandate. It will be appointed only by the president by executive order.

Democrats question whether that is truly independent.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: We can't have the president or anybody else dictating how that commission is going to work and the nominees who will be involved.

BASH: Nine months before Election Day, there are growing misgivings about the war itself. Just 49 percent of Americans think going to war in Iraq was worth it, down 10 points in under three weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, Soledad, another thing that's roiling Democrats is the fact that the panel's deadline is not likely to be until after the election. That's a move, they say, makes creating the commission look like a political ploy -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Dana Bash at the White House for us this morning. 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 February 3, 2004 - 07:16   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 is set to appoint a commission later this week that will investigate intelligence failures.
Dana Bash takes a look into what went into the president's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Little more than a week after outgoing weapons inspector David Kay declared weapons of mass destruction likely won't be found in Iraq, President Bush, under mounting political pressure, now says he'll appoint a commission to find out why.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm putting together an independent bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better as we fight this war against terror.

BASH: Mr. Bush invited Dr. Kay to the White House for a private briefing from the man who declared -- quote -- "We were all wrong."

The White House is actively assembling a nine-person panel, which they compare to the Warren Commission set up after JFK's assassination. The panel will focus not just on intelligence in Iraq, but take a broader look at gaps in other crucial areas like North Korea and Iran.

SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: I think the administration recognized that this issue was starting to get ahead of steam with the American people, with members of Congress. And, you know, every once in a while in politics you just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for what's going to happen.

BASH: The White House officials are informally consulting with some in Congress on the commission's makeup and mandate. It will be appointed only by the president by executive order.

Democrats question whether that is truly independent.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: We can't have the president or anybody else dictating how that commission is going to work and the nominees who will be involved.

BASH: Nine months before Election Day, there are growing misgivings about the war itself. Just 49 percent of Americans think going to war in Iraq was worth it, down 10 points in under three weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, Soledad, another thing that's roiling Democrats is the fact that the panel's deadline is not likely to be until after the election. That's a move, they say, makes creating the commission look like a political ploy -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Dana Bash at the White House for us this morning. 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.