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CNN Saturday Morning News
Bush Administration Rallying Support for Possible War With Iraq
Aired January 25, 2003 - 08:03 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with Iraq and the many messages coming from Washington. The White House says it won't tolerate protracted weapons inspections, but there are hints it may OK more time. Meanwhile, Colin Powell says the U.S. has lots of allies for possible war with Iraq, but some major allies still aren't convinced.
To field all these angles, White House correspondent Dana Bash is joining us now from Washington -- good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Well, as you said, Colin Powell is now in Davos, Switzerland for an economic forum there. While he is there, he will try to rally international support for a possible military strike on Iraq. He says he will remind the world that the threat presented from Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction is real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Let us not get, let's not ignore the seriousness of this matter. We are missing biological agents. We are missing chemical agents. We are missing weapons of delivery. We are missing chemical shells that the Iraqis had. We are missing a nuclear program. We are missing documents that they are hiding. We have a false declaration that needs explanation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, in the face of growing resistance from key U.S. allies like France and Germany and Russia and China, the Bush administration, which has been engaged in a week long public relations campaign to convince the world that time is running out for Saddam Hussein, is leaving the door open on agreeing to allow inspectors to continue to work even after they've filed their report to the United Nations on Monday.
Meanwhile, the president is preparing his State of the Union address. That will be delivered next Tuesday, the day after that U.N. report is due, and a senior White House official says the president will not use the speech to declare war. Rather, he will use the event as an opportunity to educate the public about the nature of the threat Iraq poses and tell Americans that the prospect for war is "very real" -- Heidi. COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash live from Washington this morning.
Thank you.
Miles, back over to you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The European Union's foreign policy chief is calling for all sides of the conflict with Iraq to cool off. France and Germany specifically are seething after a remark by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Joining us now from Berlin is Werner Sonne, a senior correspondent for the German television network ARD.
Mr. Sonne, good to have you with us, sir.
WERNER SONNE, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, ARD: Yes, good morning, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Rumsfeld called Germany and France "old Europe," yesterday's news, if you will. I'm putting words in his mouth there a little bit.
What's the reaction there?
SONNE: Well, the reaction is very, very cool, to say the least. The German government and also the French government, they're both very annoyed about these remarks and German-American relations can only be described as very strained at the moment.
O'BRIEN: Strained. That's almost, you almost sound like a diplomat there when you describe it that way. What are people saying, you know, privately and just in conversations on the street there?
SONNE: I think the frustration level is extremely high. The word coward comes up when they describe George Bush and the Schroeder government, of course, has made it very clear that they are opposed to this war. You have to understand that Gerhard Schroeder last fall won the national elections on a platform that was very much opposed to the Iraq war and he is facing regional elections in a week from now which are very crucial to his political survival in Germany. And, again, he is stressing his anti-Iraq stance here.
O'BRIEN: And do you think he'll hold firm on that?
SONNE: Oh, definitely. Definitely. This is so important for him domestically that he will certainly keep up his anti-war stand. And I think he is finding more and more allies here in Europe, specifically France, but yesterday he also had a telephone call, a telephone conversation with Russian President Putin and all of them agree that the inspectors in Iraq need to have more time.
O'BRIEN: The news today is that Secretary Powell is indicating there may be no less than a dozen allies alongside the U.S. should there be any military action in Iraq. Can you count a dozen? SONNE: Well, there are a few, certainly. Poland is one of them. Spain is one of them. But then it's becoming very difficult to find the major ones. Great Britain, of course, is the most important ally in Europe. But wherever you look, even in Great Britain, the public is more and more opposed to this war, even in Great Britain also. And the same is true here in Germany. The same is true in France. And France and Germany are still the core of the old Europe, as Mr. Rumsfeld has put it.
So it's not just a matter of sheer numbers. It's a matter of how big and how important these countries in Europe are and I think Germany and France do certainly form the core of the old Europe.
O'BRIEN: All right, let me share with you before we leave here, you've been telling us the European perspective, let me share with you a U.S. perspective and see how you respond. Many people in the U.S. feel that Germany and France have benefited from U.S. military protection all throughout the cold war and right to date. And, you know, if you really want to delve deep into history, we did a good job rebuilding Europe for both Germany and France so that both countries could prosper.
And there's a sense here that there is a level of ingratitude.
SONNE: Well, you're certainly right and I think nobody in Germany has forgotten that the United States did a lot for Europe, and especially for Germany. But that was a long time ago. The cold war is over...
O'BRIEN: So what have you done for me lately, in other words?
SONNE: ... and the main reason why -- right. No, that is not the argument. The argument is that so far the president has failed to convince the public in Europe why the United States and why the rest of the world should go to war with Iraq. I think this is the most important problem that exists here, that the president has failed to really inform and educate the public in Europe why this war is really necessary.
O'BRIEN: Werner Sonne, who is with the German television network ARD.
Thank you very much for being with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We appreciate your insights.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Iraq>
Aired January 25, 2003 - 08:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with Iraq and the many messages coming from Washington. The White House says it won't tolerate protracted weapons inspections, but there are hints it may OK more time. Meanwhile, Colin Powell says the U.S. has lots of allies for possible war with Iraq, but some major allies still aren't convinced.
To field all these angles, White House correspondent Dana Bash is joining us now from Washington -- good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Well, as you said, Colin Powell is now in Davos, Switzerland for an economic forum there. While he is there, he will try to rally international support for a possible military strike on Iraq. He says he will remind the world that the threat presented from Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction is real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Let us not get, let's not ignore the seriousness of this matter. We are missing biological agents. We are missing chemical agents. We are missing weapons of delivery. We are missing chemical shells that the Iraqis had. We are missing a nuclear program. We are missing documents that they are hiding. We have a false declaration that needs explanation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, in the face of growing resistance from key U.S. allies like France and Germany and Russia and China, the Bush administration, which has been engaged in a week long public relations campaign to convince the world that time is running out for Saddam Hussein, is leaving the door open on agreeing to allow inspectors to continue to work even after they've filed their report to the United Nations on Monday.
Meanwhile, the president is preparing his State of the Union address. That will be delivered next Tuesday, the day after that U.N. report is due, and a senior White House official says the president will not use the speech to declare war. Rather, he will use the event as an opportunity to educate the public about the nature of the threat Iraq poses and tell Americans that the prospect for war is "very real" -- Heidi. COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash live from Washington this morning.
Thank you.
Miles, back over to you.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The European Union's foreign policy chief is calling for all sides of the conflict with Iraq to cool off. France and Germany specifically are seething after a remark by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Joining us now from Berlin is Werner Sonne, a senior correspondent for the German television network ARD.
Mr. Sonne, good to have you with us, sir.
WERNER SONNE, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, ARD: Yes, good morning, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Rumsfeld called Germany and France "old Europe," yesterday's news, if you will. I'm putting words in his mouth there a little bit.
What's the reaction there?
SONNE: Well, the reaction is very, very cool, to say the least. The German government and also the French government, they're both very annoyed about these remarks and German-American relations can only be described as very strained at the moment.
O'BRIEN: Strained. That's almost, you almost sound like a diplomat there when you describe it that way. What are people saying, you know, privately and just in conversations on the street there?
SONNE: I think the frustration level is extremely high. The word coward comes up when they describe George Bush and the Schroeder government, of course, has made it very clear that they are opposed to this war. You have to understand that Gerhard Schroeder last fall won the national elections on a platform that was very much opposed to the Iraq war and he is facing regional elections in a week from now which are very crucial to his political survival in Germany. And, again, he is stressing his anti-Iraq stance here.
O'BRIEN: And do you think he'll hold firm on that?
SONNE: Oh, definitely. Definitely. This is so important for him domestically that he will certainly keep up his anti-war stand. And I think he is finding more and more allies here in Europe, specifically France, but yesterday he also had a telephone call, a telephone conversation with Russian President Putin and all of them agree that the inspectors in Iraq need to have more time.
O'BRIEN: The news today is that Secretary Powell is indicating there may be no less than a dozen allies alongside the U.S. should there be any military action in Iraq. Can you count a dozen? SONNE: Well, there are a few, certainly. Poland is one of them. Spain is one of them. But then it's becoming very difficult to find the major ones. Great Britain, of course, is the most important ally in Europe. But wherever you look, even in Great Britain, the public is more and more opposed to this war, even in Great Britain also. And the same is true here in Germany. The same is true in France. And France and Germany are still the core of the old Europe, as Mr. Rumsfeld has put it.
So it's not just a matter of sheer numbers. It's a matter of how big and how important these countries in Europe are and I think Germany and France do certainly form the core of the old Europe.
O'BRIEN: All right, let me share with you before we leave here, you've been telling us the European perspective, let me share with you a U.S. perspective and see how you respond. Many people in the U.S. feel that Germany and France have benefited from U.S. military protection all throughout the cold war and right to date. And, you know, if you really want to delve deep into history, we did a good job rebuilding Europe for both Germany and France so that both countries could prosper.
And there's a sense here that there is a level of ingratitude.
SONNE: Well, you're certainly right and I think nobody in Germany has forgotten that the United States did a lot for Europe, and especially for Germany. But that was a long time ago. The cold war is over...
O'BRIEN: So what have you done for me lately, in other words?
SONNE: ... and the main reason why -- right. No, that is not the argument. The argument is that so far the president has failed to convince the public in Europe why the United States and why the rest of the world should go to war with Iraq. I think this is the most important problem that exists here, that the president has failed to really inform and educate the public in Europe why this war is really necessary.
O'BRIEN: Werner Sonne, who is with the German television network ARD.
Thank you very much for being with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We appreciate your insights.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Iraq>
