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CNN Sunday Morning
Israel Says It Will Retaliate in Case of Iraqi Attack
Aired September 22, 2002 - 11:04 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.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: A new report says Israel will strike back if it is attacked by Iraq. "The New York Times" says -- you may have heard this before -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon informed the Bush administration Israel will not show the restraint it had during the Gulf War. Thirty-nine Iraq SCUD missiles struck Israel in 1991, and Israel, as you may remember, it did not retaliate.
Meanwhile, administration officials confirm to CNN that President Bush has plans on his desk detailing military operations against Iraq. For the latest, we turn to CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Well, the White House is not confirming Mr. Sharon's statement. Certainly Israeli officials are talking about it. It was just September 12 when Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told CNN and I'm quoting here: "If we'll be hit by Iraq, definitely by nonconventional warfare or missiles, it is accepted that Israel will respond."
Now, certainly administration officials have discouraged this. It was just Thursday when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified before Congress, and said it would be in Israel's overwhelming best interest not to intervene if U.S. went to war with Iraq. There is some cooperation between the Pentagon and Israeli military officials, perhaps to give a significant warning if, in fact, Iraq was to attack Israel. But today, administration officials conceding they do not think they'll be able to convince Israel to lay down again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: No leader of a country can tell his or her people that they will not respond to an attack on their country. I hope and believe that we can protect the Israelis sufficiently enough that they wouldn't feel compelled to do that in the name of protecting their country. We were able to do it in 1991. I believe we can do it in the case of conflicts in -- between ourselves and Iraq in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, the Bush administration is still working on diplomatic means to force Saddam Hussein to disarm in Iraq. But administration officials are also telling us that there is a strategy, a plan that is being developed to strike -- to strike Iraq, a plan that would be very different than the Persian Gulf War, one that would be very quick, narrowly focused on attacking Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership -- Kris.
OSBORN: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much. Live from the White House.
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 September 22, 2002 - 11:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: A new report says Israel will strike back if it is attacked by Iraq. "The New York Times" says -- you may have heard this before -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon informed the Bush administration Israel will not show the restraint it had during the Gulf War. Thirty-nine Iraq SCUD missiles struck Israel in 1991, and Israel, as you may remember, it did not retaliate.
Meanwhile, administration officials confirm to CNN that President Bush has plans on his desk detailing military operations against Iraq. For the latest, we turn to CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Well, the White House is not confirming Mr. Sharon's statement. Certainly Israeli officials are talking about it. It was just September 12 when Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told CNN and I'm quoting here: "If we'll be hit by Iraq, definitely by nonconventional warfare or missiles, it is accepted that Israel will respond."
Now, certainly administration officials have discouraged this. It was just Thursday when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld testified before Congress, and said it would be in Israel's overwhelming best interest not to intervene if U.S. went to war with Iraq. There is some cooperation between the Pentagon and Israeli military officials, perhaps to give a significant warning if, in fact, Iraq was to attack Israel. But today, administration officials conceding they do not think they'll be able to convince Israel to lay down again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: No leader of a country can tell his or her people that they will not respond to an attack on their country. I hope and believe that we can protect the Israelis sufficiently enough that they wouldn't feel compelled to do that in the name of protecting their country. We were able to do it in 1991. I believe we can do it in the case of conflicts in -- between ourselves and Iraq in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, the Bush administration is still working on diplomatic means to force Saddam Hussein to disarm in Iraq. But administration officials are also telling us that there is a strategy, a plan that is being developed to strike -- to strike Iraq, a plan that would be very different than the Persian Gulf War, one that would be very quick, narrowly focused on attacking Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership -- Kris.
OSBORN: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much. Live from the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
