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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Caspar Weinberger

Aired November 11, 2001 - 09:20   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.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: And now to a former secretary of defense. Caspar Weinberger served seven years in that post in Ronald Reagan's administration. He has also authored an autobiography called "In the Arena, a Memoir of the 20th Century."

It makes you sound a bit like a gladiator which, given what we know about the inner workings of Washington, is probably appropriate, isn't it?

CASPAR WEINBERGER, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, it could be. Yes, many times, actually.

MESERVE: Let's talk about the present war effort if we could.

WEINBERGER: Right.

MESERVE: Since you are a former Secretary of Defense, there are some people who are anxious, saying we're not getting results quick enough and there are those voices within the U.S. saying the U.S. should strike hard -- strike harder than it has. What's your perspective on what should be done?

WEINBERGER: Well, we're told continuously that this was a different kind of war than we've ever fought. There is one thing, however, that's exactly the same: and that is everything single thing you do is going to be heavily criticized.

We are doing, I think, what we should be doing; and I think we're doing it very well. The troops are magnificent, as always. And I think that the real problem here is that it is a different kind of war, a different kind of objective.

But initially, we have to simply keep at it until we destroy one after another of these tentacles of these various terrorist organizations. They're just like an octopus that are gripping various parts of the world. And we're started on one of the worst of all, and we're doing exactly what we have to do. And I think it will take a while, but I think that the basic tempo of the struggle is right.

MESERVE: Are we -- the U.S. in this position now because previous administrations, including, perhaps, the Reagan Administration, didn't take the terrorist threat more seriously and do more about it? WEINBERGER: Well, I wouldn't say that. I think in the Gulf War we did a magnificent job. And that was basically a terrorist operation, even though...

MESERVE: But made the decision not to eliminate Saddam Hussein.

WEINBERGER: And I agree with you. That, I think, was a mistake. I don't think you're ever going to get any peace in the Mideast until Saddam Hussein is gone. And some people now are debating whether we should go back into Iraq or not. I don't think there's any debate. I think we have to, because he and Osama bin Laden are very closely tied together.

MESERVE: Go back into Iraq, despite the fact that that would undoubtedly splinter the international coalition that President Bush has put together?

WEINBERGER: I don't think it would. I've always disagreed with that. That was, theoretically, the rationalization as to why we didn't take him out in the first place. I've always thought we were three days away from Baghdad. There was nothing between us and capital. We could have taken him just as we did Noriega. And I think we should have put him in a cell next to Noriega, and maybe even tried him sometime.

But until you get rid of leaders like that, you're never going to get change. After World War II, all the leadership that caused World War II was rooted out and after -- and the Gulf War, after a magnificent military performance, we left the leadership there and believed we could trust them. We took promises from them, which -- they were totally worthless.

MESERVE: There are those who say that one of the reasons where the U.S. is in this position it's in now is because of a lopsided approach to the Middle East peace process. Do you agree with that argument?

WEINBERGER: No, I think the Middle East peace process is an extraordinarily difficult thing to contain. I'm not sure there is any process going on. You're trying to get leadership that is willing to take courageous stands.

I think that when Peres was -- when Rabin was assassinated it made a tremendous difference, because he was one of the few people whom, I think, the Israelis would have trusted to give up some land and maintain the kind of strength necessary to keep the peace.

MESERVE: Secretary Weinberger, thanks so much. The book once again, called "In the Arena, a Memoir of the 20th Century." You've seen a lot of it from a vantage of power.

WEINBERGER: Thank you.

MESERVE: Thank you so much.

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