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CNN Saturday Morning News

Reporter's Notebook: President Seeks Support for Iraq War

Aired September 07, 2002 - 09:32   ET

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

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: In our Reporter's Notebook segment, President Bush trying to drum up some support for an attack against Saddam Hussein. Yesterday, of course, he called leaders of three countries that are on the U.N. Security Council. He called Russia and China and France. They, of course, opposing the possible attack.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, today he's meeting with Britain's Tony Blair.

We're taking your e-mails and your calls. The number is 800-807- 2620, which is now toll-free.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malvaux joins us now, along with international correspondent James Martone in Baghdad. Do we have James on the line? OK...

CALLAWAY: No, we're still working on James.

MOLINEAUX: Still working on James.

CALLAWAY: It's a little difficult getting out of Baghdad, but...

MOLINEAUX: But Suzanne is with us this morning. And actually we do have questions coming in at wam@cnn.com.

Suzanne, we have an observation. "We don't want to attack Iraq" -- this comes from Kevin in Lake Ridge, Virginia -- "We don't want to attack Iraq. We want Iraq thinks -- to think we're going to be -- it's going to be attacked. We don't want to use our troops, we want internal dissension in Iraq, frightened at the thought of an invasion, to be our army."

Is there much talk about that kind of strategy being the approach in Washington?

SUZANNE MALVAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a really interesting question, because what the White House is saying, really, is that weapons inspectors really aren't enough to actually go in there, that they really want compliance, but they really need to see some sort of evidence that these weapons of mass destruction really are destroyed, and that Saddam Hussein basically is removed from power. That's the White House position on all of this.

It's interesting to note that this caller is saying about whether or not they're just simply trying to disrupt the way things are being run in Iraq. Well, that's really a given, that they want to disrupt things in Iraq. They do want to oust Saddam Hussein.

This administration really has been courting a number of opposition groups. They were at the White House just a few months ago, and really, they're looking at all types of means, whether it's economic or diplomatic, or whether or not it's the military option to get rid of Saddam Hussein.

And -- but clearly, what the administration has been saying is that the basis for this is to get rid of those weapons of mass destruction.

CALLAWAY: And I believe we now have James Martone in Baghdad on the phone with us. James, can you hear me?

JAMES MARTONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: You know, we are taking e-mail questions from our viewers, and we just read one to Suzanne, and I'll bring it to you. It is from Kevin, who really wants to know, speaking from -- for him, "We don't use -- we don't want to use our troops, we want internal dissension in Iraq, frightened at the thought of an invasion," to be used as the enemy -- as a possible attack.

But let me ask you, Kevin (ph), you know, is there fear at the moment in Baghdad?

MARTONE: Fear in terms of internal dissent is hard to (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I should point out, and diplomats certainly who've lived here for years say there is hardly any dissent in Iraq, it's basically not allowed.

But we -- one does hear, when you're walking in the street while speaking to people, is that they are tired of what has been a continued (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sanctions regime that is living under harshness of sanctions, also many people discuss the fact that their country has been basically at war for the last 20 years and the hardships of that, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Iran-Iraq war, then the war with Kuwait, and certainly then in the 1991 Gulf War.

So people, while they will express opinions about how it is to live under hardship, they do not, in terms of criticizing what is the regime, the government (UNINTELLIGIBLE), there is not really any criticism, and very, very hard to gauge whether or not there is any, in fact, in existence at all.

Catherine?

MOLINEAUX: James, Suzanne, we got Jim from Colorado on the line, who has a question. Jim, go ahead.

CALLER: Good morning.

I am wondering what's going to happen when Saddam Hussein again, when attacked and launches Scud missiles into Israel, and creates the possibility of other Islamic nations coming to the aid of Iraq, and then we have a religious war on our hands. MOLINEAUX: Yes, Suzanne, I'll address that one towards you, because that is -- sort of speaks to the broader picture, something the Bush administration seems to have been working with. Well, let's see how much success at getting other Arab or Islamic nations on line if we do want to head off a broader war.

MALVAUX: Well, the administration has not been that successful in really bringing aboard the Arab allies in terms of its position. One of the interesting things is, the administration has really been intimately involved, as you know, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, precisely for the reason that the caller had mentioned, that he asked about, which is, what happens if this escalates and turns into a war, a religious war, a war between Israel and some of the other Arab countries?

And really, one of the things the administration is trying to really develop is cooperation at least with Arab allies, some sort of approach to the whole Israeli-Palestinian conflict, really the position saying that, yes, we want to see these two sides come together, we believe that there should be two states living side by side.

We are working to make sure, maintain that there's peace in the region, to really try to bring those Arab allies to the side of the United States, to say, Hey, look, you know, we're going to help you out, we're going to need your help in return on this war on terror, and the possibility of going into Iraq.

CALLAWAY: Now let's take a e-mail question from Dale in Burnaby,, who says, "How likely is it that Baghdad will submit to the kind of invasion, and invasion inspections, now being proposed by the U.N.?" James, let's start with you. How likely is it that Baghdad will let this happen?

MARTONE: Interesting question. I Washington speaking earlier with, again, diplomats who say that as Baghdad until yet has basically said they still refuse entry of the inspections, then the inspections are this newer idea of forced entry would probably be something they'd immediately refuse.

However, in the past, Iraq, as we've seen in the past, that -- has blocked inspections, but then later on when under pressure military pressure, turned around and allowed those inspectors back in.

This newer form, if you will, this outline of inspections that would be forced entry, is still something that has not been brought up, certainly in the state-run newspapers we haven't read anything.

And Iraqi officials have not spoken of them. Their tone -- line so far is that they will still not deal with inspections as long as it does not come in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in line as well with a thought as to when the sanctions will be lifted, until that was the talk in the Arab League, that's what the ministers and vice president of Iraq have been sent out to say, is that, We will eventually (UNINTELLIGIBLE) inspections. But when it comes, also in terms of a dialogue about sanctions being lifted. CALLAWAY: Suzanne, we'll let you -- Thank you, James. Suzanne, I'll let you weigh in on this before we go. Certainly we've heard from the White House on this issue, saying that the inspections may not even be enough.

MALVAUX: Well, certainly. I mean, the White House, what we saw just over the last week or so, with this split that has come to the surface here, and we really heard it from Vice President Dick Cheney, who said just a week ago that there was really very little faith that these weapons inspections would really accomplish much, that they would be pointless, and perhaps even dangerous if that was to give people a false sense of security, that, yes, weapons inspectors go in, the problem has been solved, that Saddam Hussein, of course, has a history of breaking these agreements, moving these weapons around, that he cannot be trusted.

And I think what my colleague said is really an important point, is this whole idea that the administration is also entertaining the idea of forced inspections, the fact that you might have the U.S. troops, or perhaps even an international body of troops either outside of Iraq or just on the border poised to strike if these U.N. weapons inspectors are not allowed to go in, that that may be a more effective way of handling this.

But yes, I mean, across the board, administration officials do not really believe that weapons inspectors as they were conducted before are really going to be very effective.

CALLAWAY: All right, we want to thank our correspondents, Suzanne Malvaux at the White House, and James Martone there with us from Baghdad. Thank you very much for being with us today.

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