Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

U.S. Leaders Weight Options

Aired September 15, 2001 - 07:03   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to check in with Bill Hemmer, who joins us from the Jacob Javits Center.

Bill, I heard an interesting thing on my way in to work. I am told that there are so many professional contractors on duty now that many of the volunteers who have lined up for many, many hours to pitch in are being turned away. Are you finding it down there?

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In fact, just a few moments ago, there was an announcement made here, Paula, that indeed said that very thing, that the hundreds and hundreds of people -- and we showed up here about an hour and half ago. The line starts here at the convention center. Right now we're on Manhattan's West Side. It snakes down along the block and clear round the way here.

There must be up towards of 1,000 volunteers who have come here this morning, trying to get on buses to be shuttled down.

But moments ago, we were just told that steam fitters and iron workers are the only two groups of people they're looking for right now. We're not sure exactly why, but what we were told earlier, we were given an indication that there are a number of volunteers already on the site, and they're pretty much overloaded at this point.

I want to bring in Anthony Pisano (ph) in here from Staten Island. Anthony, you were just over at the convention center area here when they made an announcement. What did they say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, from what I overheard -- they didn't actually speak to me directly -- but what I overheard is that they want to get all the professionals, policemen, firemen, EMT, anybody in the medical emergency service, and people in the medical profession...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: ... today, or not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not today. But I did get in yesterday with my local and my representatives there. We went in as a group to help out.

HEMMER: OK. I want you to hang out here a second. We're...

(CROSSTALK) HEMMER: ... in a moment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, no problem. All right.

HEMMER: First, though, Paula, we're going to go to down to the White House and CNN's John King. Let's check in there now -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, standing by at another location at our CNN bureau here in Washington monitoring developments at the White House and across the city, obviously a very important time for President Bush. He is up at the Camp David presidential retreat. Vice President Dick Cheney up there as well.

The president, we are told, already awake and at work this morning. Awaiting his signature, legislation quickly passed by the Congress authorizing up to $40 billion, the initial down payment for the recovery efforts, also for the increased military operations because of this horrific tragedy.

The president yesterday, of course, was up in New York City, also led the nation in prayer as he tries to adopt the role of consoling the nation, and delivering a pep talk to those relief workers. Look for a continuation today. He will deliver his weekly radio address.

More importantly, though, aides say the president will meet with his national security team up at Camp David. Increasingly, those discussions, we are told by senior administration sources, turning to potential military options, both short term and long term.

So a very important weekend here for the president again. He is gratified by the bipartisan support in Congress, not only for that spending proposal but also for a resolution authorizing him to use necessary and appropriate force once he decides to retaliate for this.

The president meeting with his national security staff this morning. Once again, he will address the nation as well.

One of the president's challenges, we are told, he told aides after shaking hands with all those relief workers yesterday, he was surprised by the anger. So many workers told him they wanted him to retaliate. The president, as he mulls his options, urging the American people to be patient -- Paula.

ZAHN: John, what is the strategy for what appearances the president might make in the days to come?

KING: Well, we certainly saw an evolution over the week. If you remember, right after the attacks there was even a debate about why it took so long to get the president back to Washington from Florida. At first, his role was in a consoling one, trying to convince the American people their government was back at work.

Much more stern language in recent days as the president has promised to retaliate for this. At the same time, though, urging the American people to give him patience, the investigators patience. The president now has a dual role, one to plan what we are told will be a sustained military and diplomatic campaign.

So as he tries to have the American people, on the one hand, be patient and wait for retaliation, at the same time, he's trying to build public support for an operation. His aides say it will not take days, it will not take weeks, not even months. It will go on for the rest of the Bush term.

So the president, a very delicate challenge here. On the one hand he has to step up and lead the nation, console it in its moment of grief, on the other, plan for a military response that his aides insist will be unprecedented in scope.

ZAHN: John, what is the consensus you're getting there, if and when the sustained campaign happens? Is there any hope that the United States or its allies, any of the folks involved in this coalition they're trying to cobble together, will ever find Osama bin Laden?

KING: Well, that is a difficult...

ZAHN: Yes, you know, we can -- we need to make it clear -- yes, we need to make it clear it is Secretary of State Colin Powell, of course, who has called Osama bin Laden a prime suspect.

KING: He has, and the president himself last night said, "We have a suspect." Aides rushed after that to say, Don't rush to conclusions. There could be more than one suspect.

That is one of the problems here. In the short term, the president knows there is palpable anger across the country. The American people want something done, want retaliation for this. At the same time, if there is to be an international coalition that can stay together for several years, the president is talking not only about a military operation but an international coalition to crack down on financial support not only for bin Laden but for other terrorist groups, to crack down and put diplomatic and financial pressure on states that harbor terrorists.

If there is to be support for that, the president is going to have to show not only the U.S. allies but countries that are less predictable, like China, like Russia, that there is credible evidence that whether it's Mr. bin Laden, whoever the United States goes after, he's going to have to show there's credible evidence to keep that international coalition together.

So a very tough challenge for the president. Top advisers do not rule out some retaliatory strikes in the near future, some say even possible within the next several days. Others think it might be a week or two or more.

But what they say is most important is that the president build support not only here in the United States but around the world for, again, what they keep describing as an unprecedented effort.

And remember, we went after Mr. bin Laden, the United States went after Mr. bin Laden, back in the Clinton administration. Seventy-five cruise missiles launched on Afghanistan, and at one target in the Sudan. Mr. bin Laden still in operation. That a lesson to the Bush administration that things need to be done differently this time.

ZAHN: John, one last question for you. There was a front page story in "The New York Times" talking about the amount of pressure that the United States government is putting on individual Arab governments right now to cooperate. Can you shed some light on that for us this morning?

KING: Certainly can. Our understanding is that President Bush, Secretary of State Powell, and all other administration officials, including ambassadors around the world, have been given orders to go to see their counterparts in allied countries like Canada, like Britain, like Germany, but also in Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, like Jordan and Egypt. Essentially, the administration message is, You're either with us or you're against us.

Very blunt talk, we are told, not the usual diplomatic language about, Could you help us? But the president -- in one example, I'm told, he told the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, We need you to crack down on bin Laden. We need you to cut off financial support. We need you to take a tougher line against the Taliban. Secretary Powell saying yesterday, This is an us-versus-them scenario.

So the administration's language, not the usual diplomatic language. We are told very clearly the president is asking allies to crack down on terrorist cells, and he's asking nations -- a breakthrough possibly with Pakistan yesterday, promising cooperation, again after a very tough conversation, we are told, in which Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Pakistani leader, If you want good relations with the United States, you will support us now.

ZAHN: All right, John King, thanks so much for that update. We'll see you throughout the morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com