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CNN Sunday Morning
Bush to Address Iraq Question in State of Union
Aired January 26, 2003 - 11:01 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story now, the campaign against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State Colin Powell faces a tough audience at the World Economic Forum even as his boss prepares a State of the Union address that is expected to be a, quote, "call to arms," at least in part. Now to the White House and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. President Bush really facing one of the most important weeks of his presidency. He began the week by going to a church service with the first lady. We are told he is going to also go for a run, spend his afternoon working on his State of the Union address.
We are less than 48 hours away from what this administration has billed as the final phase with Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Davos, Switzerland making the administration's case against Saddam Hussein, that the White House position is that Saddam Hussein will not comply. He has yet to comply, and the only question left, is what is the world going to do about it? We also heard from Chief of Staff Andy Card who hit the talk shows this morning, again, addressing that very issue, talking about in broad terms what will happen next.
The fact that the administration will assess the U.N. weapons inspectors' own report on Monday, that they'll consult with allies, and then they'll present their own evidence to the U.N. Security Council later in the week, and then, President Bush, of course, to make that critical decision whether or not the United States will go to war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: He's not anxious to go to war. He'd like to see Saddam come clean, disarm, bring those weapons of mass destruction into a parking lot and allow them to be destroyed. And he'd like to see a regime change in Iraq so the Iraqi people can live in freedom and have more liberties, and Saddam Hussein can still do that. The burden is on Saddam Hussein.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States believes that time is running out. We will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. We continue to reserve our sovereign right to take military action against Iraq alone, or in a coalition of the willing. As the president has said, we cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. History will judge harshly those who saw the coming danger but failed to act. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush will also make that case to the American people on Tuesday when he delivers his State of the Union address.
Fred, he'll be spending some time practicing on the TelePrompTer. Also, he's been spending quite a bit of time with his team of speech writers, going over several different drafts of that key point that he is going to be making. White House aides tell us, that no, he is not going to be declaring war, but he is going to lay out a broad and detailed case against Saddam Hussein, that he is going to talk about the fact that this is the last diplomatic phase with Iraq, and also why it is that the prospect for war is very real -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux from the White House, thank you very much.
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 January 26, 2003 - 11:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story now, the campaign against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State Colin Powell faces a tough audience at the World Economic Forum even as his boss prepares a State of the Union address that is expected to be a, quote, "call to arms," at least in part. Now to the White House and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. President Bush really facing one of the most important weeks of his presidency. He began the week by going to a church service with the first lady. We are told he is going to also go for a run, spend his afternoon working on his State of the Union address.
We are less than 48 hours away from what this administration has billed as the final phase with Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Davos, Switzerland making the administration's case against Saddam Hussein, that the White House position is that Saddam Hussein will not comply. He has yet to comply, and the only question left, is what is the world going to do about it? We also heard from Chief of Staff Andy Card who hit the talk shows this morning, again, addressing that very issue, talking about in broad terms what will happen next.
The fact that the administration will assess the U.N. weapons inspectors' own report on Monday, that they'll consult with allies, and then they'll present their own evidence to the U.N. Security Council later in the week, and then, President Bush, of course, to make that critical decision whether or not the United States will go to war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: He's not anxious to go to war. He'd like to see Saddam come clean, disarm, bring those weapons of mass destruction into a parking lot and allow them to be destroyed. And he'd like to see a regime change in Iraq so the Iraqi people can live in freedom and have more liberties, and Saddam Hussein can still do that. The burden is on Saddam Hussein.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States believes that time is running out. We will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. We continue to reserve our sovereign right to take military action against Iraq alone, or in a coalition of the willing. As the president has said, we cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. History will judge harshly those who saw the coming danger but failed to act. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush will also make that case to the American people on Tuesday when he delivers his State of the Union address.
Fred, he'll be spending some time practicing on the TelePrompTer. Also, he's been spending quite a bit of time with his team of speech writers, going over several different drafts of that key point that he is going to be making. White House aides tell us, that no, he is not going to be declaring war, but he is going to lay out a broad and detailed case against Saddam Hussein, that he is going to talk about the fact that this is the last diplomatic phase with Iraq, and also why it is that the prospect for war is very real -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux from the White House, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
