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CNN Saturday Morning News

Britain, U.S. Have `Special Relationship'

Aired April 06, 2002 - 08:34   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: As we reported earlier this hour, President Bush is hosting Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair at the president's ranch this weekend. From the beginning, Mr. Blair has been a staunch supporter of President Bush's war on terrorism, a stance that may cost the prime minister with British voters.

CNN's Garrick Utley explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are as close as allies can be, Blair and Bush, Britain and the United States. But then both sides have long called it a special relationship. In Afghanistan, British soldiers have been fighting alongside American troops in the ground war and the British command the international military force in Kabul.

Tony Blair announced his commitment on September 11.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We therefore here in Britain stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends in this hour of tragedy and we, like them, will not rest until this evil is driven from our world.

UTLEY (on camera): In a world which has grown more threatening to Americans, it's nice to have friends you can rely on. True, Britain does not have the arsenal of aircraft carriers, Stealth bombers and infantry divisions the United States possesses, but the symbolism of British support is important for both countries.

(voice-over): For George Bush, it means the United States is not totally alone in its military war on terrorism. And for Tony Blair?

HUGO YOUNG, BRITISH COLUMNIST: I think almost the entire justification for the special closeness of Britain and America, from Britain's point of view, is to make us seem to be, and occasionally actually to be, a more powerful presence in the world.

UTLEY: Tony Blair has been prime minister for five years. His Labor Party was reelected last year in a second landslide. But his popularity is sinking at home, where voters are more concerned about domestic problems than a distant conflict.

(on camera): So, a big question facing Tony Blair is how close will he stand with George Bush if the president says hey, I am going to take on Saddam Hussein and attack Iraq and, Tony, I want you to support me.

(voice-over): Since WWII, British and American leaders have rarely abandoned each other in a crisis. It did happen once, in 1956 when Britain, France and Israel tried to seize the Suez Canal. President Eisenhower forced them to back off. The British felt humiliated. But that was then and Iraq is now. Will Blair march to the American drummer?

YOUNG: Blair wants to be a voice of restraint on what might be going to happen. There is so much more anxiety and doubt about the rationale for and practicality of invading Iraq that for Blair to be tied closely to Bush on that issue will make him more unpopular in this country.

UTLEY: Whatever the two leaders say in public, there will be frank talk about Iraq. It will be a test of a beautiful political friendship.

Garrick Utley, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And on that subject matter, we want to ask you once again for your e-mails at wam, that's wam@cnn.com. What do you think about this meeting between Blair and Bush and what should they discuss? What should they accomplish?

Well, we're going to bring in two of our distinguished guests to talk about this as we wait for your e-mails. Robin Oakley, CNN European political editor, and we're also getting our Kelly Wallace, our CNN White House correspondent on the phone. She'll be with us in just a moment. Having some problems with lightning and so we want to take her off the grounds there and get her on the phone. It'll be much more safe. And she's with us now -- Kelly, you hear us OK?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am.

PHILLIPS: All right.

WALLACE: I'm a little out of breath running into the work space. That's it.

PHILLIPS: Well, you, that's OK. You catch your breath. And we're glad your with us. Robin, we'll go ahead and start with you. A number of questions, as we wait for some more e-mails.

Let's talk about what Tony Blair brings to the table when talking about peace in the Middle East. This is someone very familiar with the Northern Ireland conflict and having to deal and broker peace accords in that region.

ROBIN OAKLEY, LONDON: Indeed, and I think, Kyra, one thing he's been arguing with George Bush is that when you get a situation like there is in the Middle East where there are two sides to the argument who have long been distrustful of each other, as there were in Northern Ireland, then you cannot resolve such a situation without the interference of some outside power, which can have a real influence on events. And I think Tony Blair will argue from that experience in Northern Ireland that in the Middle East you can't have just a military solution. There has to be a political process to follow it through.

And I think he will use that experience in Northern Ireland to continue that argument with George Bush and I think he will be urging George Bush to make sure that there is tremendous American follow through behind Colin Powell's expedition. Because, after all, Mr. Powell has been to the Middle East before and returned empty handed.

There has got to be a real sense of commitment from the U.S. administration this time around. I think that's a strong feeling coming from Britain and from Europe -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kelly, the Bush administration undoubtedly has high hopes for this meeting, yes?

WALLACE: Absolutely. I mean certainly it's a welcome meeting because, just as Robin was saying, Prime Minister Blair certainly wanting to see continued engagement by the Bush administration in the Middle East. He was not, though, openly critical, as other European leaders were, of Mr. Bush. You heard the criticism, many leaders saying that the president needed to get more involved, get more deeply engaged in the region. Obviously some of that criticism has died down after the president announced that he would send Secretary Powell to the region.

U.S. officials say the president wants to hear Tony Blair's ideas about the Middle East. He'll discuss Secretary Powell's game plan for when he goes to the region. But again, obviously, we know that Mr. Blair is calling for a continued engagement and more discussion about those political issues and it seems the White House, after criticism and after looking at events on the ground, has decided it must be discussing those political issues at the same time it's trying to bring an end to the violence and negotiate a cease-fire -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, the e-mails are starting to come in. Let's go straight to them. This one comes from Bruce in Ohio. "The bill which President Bush passed in March has been called the worst bill passed since he became president. Will the prime minister be able to gain some sympathy to the devastation this bill will have on the British economy?"

Robin?

OAKLEY: Which bill precisely are we talking about here, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Yes, see, and that's exactly what I was just thinking as I saw that, and it doesn't say. It doesn't state specifically which bill. What -- what do you...

WALLACE: I wonder...

PHILLIPS: Kelly, what do you think?

WALLACE: Well, I don't, I'm just speculating because just like you and Robin I have no idea what bill that is. I wonder if it may be the decision of the president to go ahead and impose tariffs of up to 30 percent on imports...

PHILLIPS: We're talking about steel here.

WALLACE: ... of steel, yes.

PHILLIPS: OK.

WALLACE: And obviously the president did that under some pressure here in the United States and he did that, he said, to help the American steel industry. He believed that other governments were unfairly subsidizing the steel companies in their countries. But the prime minister and other European leaders, as, Robin, you know full well, are completely outraged by the decision, very disappointed. It could start a trade war and there are a lot of concerns that in other European countries, this decision could have a devastating impact on those economies and jobs in those countries.

PHILLIPS: Robin, do you think they will definitely talk steel?

OAKLEY: Yes, I'm quite certain they will. The Downing Street briefers, before the prime minister left for this meeting, were saying that that was going to be one of the issues raised. And as Kelly was saying, it is an issue which has raised some fury among European Union leaders. And I think partly because they see this as an example of unilateralism by the United States. After all, the president has talked a big game in terms of free trade and then produces a restrictive action of this kind.

And I think European leaders see this as part of a pattern with the United States going its own way on the ABM treaty, on chemical weapons, on the Kyoto Protocol, on the environment, a whole range of issues where the United States, they feel, looks for support in the battle against terrorism and then goes its own way on other issues just to suit itself.

So there is considerable anger in Europe and I think Tony Blair will reflect that, certainly on the steel question. He's got to be seen to sustain both sides of his self-appointed role as a bridge between the United States and the European Union. He prides himself on that. He's been the most staunch ally militarily of the United States. Sometimes the other European Union leaders have said well, what are you getting out of this? They don't seem to be listening to us on other issues.

So I think he will make quite a forcible argument on the steel issue -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And talking about other issues, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, what could the next move be? Yes, there's a lot going on in the Middle East right now, but this is another topic a lot of Americans want to know also about. Kelly, what do you think? WALLACE: Absolutely, Kyra, and as you and Robin certainly know, the British prime minister faces a lot of domestic pressure on this issue. A number of law makers in Britain very concerned that Mr. Bush is gearing up for some imminent military action against Iraq and there's a lot of pressure on Mr. Blair to come here urging caution, urging deliberations, really kind of making sure that there's a lot of thought before any military action.

The president was interviewed by a British journalist on Thursday. He said he has no immediate plans for any military action. But he also made it very clear that he believes that it is the policy of the U.S. government that Saddam Hussein must go. The key question is how to achieve that. And, again, Robin, you can add to this. I know that Tony Blair will be coming here urging to look at the diplomatic strategies, look at negotiations to try to engage with the opposition in Iraq to try and bring about this peacefully. But as you both know, the U.S. administration has made it clear a military attack is not off the table.

PHILLIPS: Thoughts, Robin?

OAKLEY: Well, certainly there is very strong domestic pressure on Tony Blair now not to be seen to go along too easily with any American action against Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He certainly indicted that he's prepared to look at doing so. But there are dangers for him politically. At least two members of his cabinet have indicated they might resign if it comes to military action against Saddam Hussein. A hundred and twenty-two of his Labor Party M.P.s have signed a motion saying don't go along with any such action. He also has no real support from other European Union leaders and he does pride himself on maintaining a good relationship with them.

So there are a lot of pressures on Tony Blair. And it's interesting that people on his staff have been saying in advance of this meeting, stressing that it's not going to be a decision-making meeting where Iraq is concerned. It's going to be a combing through the options kind of meeting. And there is no question, it's said, of Tony Blair signing on the dotted line. And really the language has changed over the last month or two. It was a little bit gung ho to begin with. Since then Tony Blair has seemed to back away from immediate military action -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Robin Oakley and Kelly Wallace, thanks to both of you, and Bush and Blair are set to have a joint press conference from Crawford, Texas at noon today, and we'll take that live.

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