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CNN Saturday Morning News

Cheney Makes Administration's Case for Attack on Iraq

Aired August 31, 2002 - 09:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. threats of war to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein seem more imminent now. The vice president, Dick Cheney, is making the administration's case in some recent speeches.
CNN's Kelly Wallace is joining us from the president's ranch in bucolic Crawford, Texas.

Kelly, always a pleasure to see you. What is the latest on Iraq?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Always a pleasure to see you, Miles, as well.

Well, we can tell you that when the president returns to the White House tomorrow, wrapping up his working vacation, he is facing a lot of criticism in the Congress, criticism when it comes to U.S. allies, about any possible military attack against Iraq. And we are also seeing some concern on the part of the American people.

Take a look at this recent CNN-"Time" poll. Support for sending ground troops into Iraq, 70 percent in December, down to 51 percent now. And also in that same poll, Americans very concerned about a number of issues.

If troops are sent to Iraq and if there is a war to topple Saddam Hussein, you see many Americans concerned about things such as higher oil prices, more terrorism in the United States, instability in the Middle East, and the possibility of an economic recession.

Now, to all of this, White House officials would say, Look, the president has not made any decisions, that he will consult with Congress and with allies and he will eventually make the case to the American people.

In the meantime, of course, we have seen Vice President Cheney making the case, the administration's most forceful case yet for preemptive action against Iraq. We saw the vice president speaking to two different veterans' groups this past week.

His words really a concern to some members of Congress, including members of the president's own party, who believe President Bush's mind is already made up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I can hardly believe that the vice president of the United States would go out and make two very declaratory defining war speeches on why we must invade Iraq unilaterally, if we must, without the knowledge and the approval of the president of the United States. Maybe that is the case. If that is the case, we are probably all in a lot more trouble than we know about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now, we do know there is some dissent within the administration, a close confidant to Secretary of State Colin Powell telling CNN that the secretary believes, unlike other U.S. officials, that this administration could not invade Iraq unless it had the support of key allies.

Meantime, Miles, the Iraqis going on a diplomatic offensive of their own, visiting officials in Lebanon, reaching out to members of the permanent Security Council of the United Nations, such as China and Russia, trying to build opposition to any military action against Iraq.

Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Kelly Wallace in Crawford, Texas, thanks for dropping by, appreciate it.

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