Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Bush en Route to Azores Summit

Aired March 16, 2003 - 09:03   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.


ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Tuesday, Dr. Blix and ElBaradei are to present a document to the Security Council in New York outlining the most contentious issues concerning the hunt for illegal weapons.
Now we're going to get a view from Washington. CNN White House Correspondent Dana Bash has an update from the North Lawn.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Arthel.

President Bush, at this hour, is en route to the Azores, to the summit, in the tiny islands off the coast of Portugal. He's meeting there, of course, with his chief allies from the United Nations, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and of course, Tony Blair, his chief ally in the process, British prime minister.

And he's going to meet with the purpose of trying to figure out what to do next diplomatically. The president's Secretary of State, Colin Powell, speaking earlier today with Wolf Blitzer for a taping for "Late Edition" said the summit, as far as he is concerned, is a chance to see if diplomacy has run its course, but he made clear that it probably has.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The curtain's coming down. We can't continue to go like this. And it's unfortunate that there are members of the council who say, just give it more time, give it more time. The inspections are working.

But what what's really working is force. Force is slowly causing him to do some things, but he's not doing them because he has changed his basic political strategy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: There you heard Secretary Powell expressing frustration at some of the Security Council members, particularly the French who Secretary Powell and others in the U.S. administration believe has hurt their chances at potentially disarming Saddam Hussein peacefully, because there hasn't been unity among the allies at the United Nations.

But Secretary Powell also saying that he is considering a proposal from the French, and others at the Security Council, for the foreign ministers to get together at the U.N. early next week. But regardless of what happens there, or at the summit in -- today, what happens later today -- Secretary Powell and others, including the president himself, have made very clear this weekend that very -- crucial days lie ahead and it's time for other nations around the world to decide whether they'll be on board with the U.S. for military action that could be very imminent.

Arthel?

NEVILLE: Dana, what is the administration saying to those skeptics who are saying that this summit, in the Azores, is all for show? That, in fact, it's not really a true substance, regarding any kind of diplomacy?

BASH: Well, it depends how you define diplomacy, I guess. Of course, there are -- these are all member nations that are in agreement with one another. You're right. There aren't the countries from the six undecided Security Council nations, for instance, who have been lobbied by the president and by Tony Blair over the past few weeks.

They will not be at the summit, that's right. But what this is, as far as the White House is concerned, is a chance for the allies to get together and decide what to do next. And whether it is, in fact, time for diplomacy to come to an end. And how to form a coalition, if the U.N. isn't going to act further.

So there is some show of unity. There is some sense that it could be positive to have pictures of these leaders together. There is work some work to do as well -- Arthel.

NEVILLE: OK. Dana Bash, thank you very much for that report.

And right now, we'll go to the Azores for an update on the summit. CNN's Chris Burns joins us with more.

Chris?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Arthel.

Tony Blair is also in the air on his way over here, and of course, Jose Maria Aznar, the Spanish prime minister, they're both on their way to meet President Bush here.

They will be looking to see how they can work out some kind of an image of unity at the same time as they try to deal with their political problems at home. Because both leaders, Aznar and Blair, are under severe political fire back at home. They need some kind of political cover here. And that was the pursuit of that U.N. resolution that seems very much in trouble.

Will the three get together and declare this U.N. resolution bid dead, or will they try to propose some kind of new modification to this resolution? Try to work something out with the French, Germans and Russians, who are saying that they might come up with some kind of a tighter timetable for those benchmarks that Iraq would have to comply with, perhaps in the next few weeks. That is up in the air. But also, the question of political cover in terms of, perhaps, the Middle East peace process. That is something that President Bush spoke about a couple of days ago, talking about a road map to peace. That long-awaited road map to peace if there could be progress on that.

That's something that Tony Blair seized up on immediately after President Bush spoke. Obviously that appeared to be a concerted effort that not only are they trying to address the Iraqi question, but also the wider Middle East question -- Arthel,

NEVILLE: Chris Burns, thank you so 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 March 16, 2003 - 09:03   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Tuesday, Dr. Blix and ElBaradei are to present a document to the Security Council in New York outlining the most contentious issues concerning the hunt for illegal weapons.
Now we're going to get a view from Washington. CNN White House Correspondent Dana Bash has an update from the North Lawn.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Arthel.

President Bush, at this hour, is en route to the Azores, to the summit, in the tiny islands off the coast of Portugal. He's meeting there, of course, with his chief allies from the United Nations, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and of course, Tony Blair, his chief ally in the process, British prime minister.

And he's going to meet with the purpose of trying to figure out what to do next diplomatically. The president's Secretary of State, Colin Powell, speaking earlier today with Wolf Blitzer for a taping for "Late Edition" said the summit, as far as he is concerned, is a chance to see if diplomacy has run its course, but he made clear that it probably has.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The curtain's coming down. We can't continue to go like this. And it's unfortunate that there are members of the council who say, just give it more time, give it more time. The inspections are working.

But what what's really working is force. Force is slowly causing him to do some things, but he's not doing them because he has changed his basic political strategy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: There you heard Secretary Powell expressing frustration at some of the Security Council members, particularly the French who Secretary Powell and others in the U.S. administration believe has hurt their chances at potentially disarming Saddam Hussein peacefully, because there hasn't been unity among the allies at the United Nations.

But Secretary Powell also saying that he is considering a proposal from the French, and others at the Security Council, for the foreign ministers to get together at the U.N. early next week. But regardless of what happens there, or at the summit in -- today, what happens later today -- Secretary Powell and others, including the president himself, have made very clear this weekend that very -- crucial days lie ahead and it's time for other nations around the world to decide whether they'll be on board with the U.S. for military action that could be very imminent.

Arthel?

NEVILLE: Dana, what is the administration saying to those skeptics who are saying that this summit, in the Azores, is all for show? That, in fact, it's not really a true substance, regarding any kind of diplomacy?

BASH: Well, it depends how you define diplomacy, I guess. Of course, there are -- these are all member nations that are in agreement with one another. You're right. There aren't the countries from the six undecided Security Council nations, for instance, who have been lobbied by the president and by Tony Blair over the past few weeks.

They will not be at the summit, that's right. But what this is, as far as the White House is concerned, is a chance for the allies to get together and decide what to do next. And whether it is, in fact, time for diplomacy to come to an end. And how to form a coalition, if the U.N. isn't going to act further.

So there is some show of unity. There is some sense that it could be positive to have pictures of these leaders together. There is work some work to do as well -- Arthel.

NEVILLE: OK. Dana Bash, thank you very much for that report.

And right now, we'll go to the Azores for an update on the summit. CNN's Chris Burns joins us with more.

Chris?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN INT'L CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Arthel.

Tony Blair is also in the air on his way over here, and of course, Jose Maria Aznar, the Spanish prime minister, they're both on their way to meet President Bush here.

They will be looking to see how they can work out some kind of an image of unity at the same time as they try to deal with their political problems at home. Because both leaders, Aznar and Blair, are under severe political fire back at home. They need some kind of political cover here. And that was the pursuit of that U.N. resolution that seems very much in trouble.

Will the three get together and declare this U.N. resolution bid dead, or will they try to propose some kind of new modification to this resolution? Try to work something out with the French, Germans and Russians, who are saying that they might come up with some kind of a tighter timetable for those benchmarks that Iraq would have to comply with, perhaps in the next few weeks. That is up in the air. But also, the question of political cover in terms of, perhaps, the Middle East peace process. That is something that President Bush spoke about a couple of days ago, talking about a road map to peace. That long-awaited road map to peace if there could be progress on that.

That's something that Tony Blair seized up on immediately after President Bush spoke. Obviously that appeared to be a concerted effort that not only are they trying to address the Iraqi question, but also the wider Middle East question -- Arthel,

NEVILLE: Chris Burns, thank you so 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