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CNN Sunday Morning
Vice President's Trip Shrouded in Secrecy
Aired March 10, 2002 - 10:03 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well let's take a closer look now at the vice president's trip. It includes 10 or visits to 10 Middle East countries and it's shrouded with security-driven secrecy. CNN's Major Garrett joins us now live from the White House with more on this.
Good to see you Major.
MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Kyra. Let's go to the videotape that we have of the vice president and his wife, Lynne Cheney, boarding the 747 typically reserved for President Bush when he travels. Now why is this important? Well symbolically, it sort of communicates to everyone in the region the vice president will be traveling to that he speaks for the president. He carries all the symbolic (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the president of the United States on his travels.
Also it's worth pointing out this aircraft is by far the most secure of all aircraft available to the president or the vice president. This trip is being conducted under the highest level of security any vice presidential trip has ever been conducted under military aide, so advised reporters traveling with the vice president on Friday. CNN senior White House correspondent John King is on that trip.
Let's talk about where this story is going. Yes the vice president is going to the region to talk about the Middle East, also the ongoing war on terrorism. But he's also going to talk about Iraq. As far as to where the story is going, our viewers might want to keep track of a couple of numbers - U.N. resolution 687. That was passed in 1991, and under that resolution, the Iraqi government committed to eliminating all weapons of mass destruction.
Well senior administration officials who briefed reporters before this trip said it's the position of the United States government that Iraq has not lived up to that, and it's not interested so much in a weapons inspector regime returning to Iraq, but that it proved once and for all that all weapons of mass destruction have been eliminated, and if they are not, U.S. administration officials leave it very clear that there's going to be a confrontation of one kind or another with Iraq.
That is a huge issue on this trip. Of course, the Middle East, the ongoing war on terrorism, but don't leave out Iraq because the administration is turning up the heat on this question of weapons of mass destruction and Iraq - Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Major, on that note, I was wondering, you know we've been talking about the "L.A. Times" story releasing - talking about this report with some classified information about possible targets for the U.S. nuclear attacks. Arab nations, is Cheney expecting to receive any heat or anxiety from leaders of these nations?
GARRETT: Well what he'll probably want is some clarification. What this is, is the sixth year Pentagon review of basic contingency plans for the United States nuclear arsenal. Now the Pentagon says it's all very ordinary, and there are several countries named specifically as potential, and it's vital to use the word potential targets for some type of United States nuclear activity. Those nations include Libya, Syria, China, Russia, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. The three, of course, being part of the now famous "axis of evil" referred to in the president's State of the Union address.
And the White House will not comment on this report, will not comment on any operational details of the military, be they nuclear or conventional. But the Pentagon says this is a standard review of what the United States nuclear arsenal could be used for. It's worth pointing out that Syria and Libya are, of course, recognized nations on the State Department terrorist lists. Russia and China, not necessarily enemies or adversaries of the United States, but with nuclear stockpiles of their own and of course, the last three nations on the "axis of evil", very much on the president's mind as he deals with the question of weapons of mass destruction.
So what Arab leaders are going to want to know is some reassurance about what exactly this means. In all likelihood Vice President Cheney will say it's just operational details, nothing to be alarmed about right now - Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, CNN's Major Garrett, live from the White House.
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