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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Danny Glover

Aired February 15, 2003 - 09:05   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.


HIEDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: As Maria just mentioned, Danny Glover will be one of the protesters at the rally in New York, actor, Danny Glover. He is there now and joins us with more to talk about what is on today's agenda.
Good morning to you, Danny. Thanks for being here.

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Good morning.

COLLINS: I want to ask you, why are you getting involved in this? And what do you think the purpose for today is?

GLOVER: Well, I think the purpose for today is to let the rest of the world know that we are certainly opposed to war and war on speculation. I'm involved because, first of all, I'm a citizen, and I certainly am opposed to the potential war in Iraq.

COLLINS: Tell me why.

GLOVER: Well, the first -- first of all, I think that the war is unnecessary, it will cause further destabilization in the region. The war will unduly affect Iraqi women and children, who have already suffered tremendously from the sanctions.

And I think that the world, like everyone else in the world, the world has come -- has spoken clearly that it is, it has no to war, and has really been very clear message from the rest of the world. In Rome, there were a million people who marched. In London there are 500,000.

COLLINS: Course, we're still getting numbers in on those definitively. But, Danny, what...

GLOVER: Well, they were, they were announced on the radio. They were announced.

COLLINS: OK.

GLOVER: Yes, yes.

COLLINS: Talk to me about what your alternatives are, or what you and your group see as better solutions.

GLOVER: Well, it's not my group. I think there have been 107 cities that have -- that city councils that have passed resolutions denouncing the war. Just my group is just, is all over the country, on campuses, in civic -- civil society, in churches. All over the country, people are saying no to this war.

And there are better solutions. One of the solutions is to allow the inspections to continue. I mean, and if need be, to bring more -- to get more inspectors on the ground. So there other better solutions, no one has said really if there are weapons of mass destruction.

COLLINS: What if, in a couple of years, let's say, the inspections are still going on, possibly, and they fail. What -- at what point do they -- what does that mean to you? Are you willing to take that risk? Are the people that share your thoughts willing to take that risk?

GLOVER: Well, I'm talking about -- you keep saying people that share our thoughts. I'm talking about a movement that is building around the world that says no to war and yes to peace. So it's not us as against them. If you say it's us, it's the entire world who's making -- is -- who's carrying this message.

So on the one hand, we don't know what has occurred now. We don't know if there are, indeed, so-called weapons of mass destructions. Certainly, there are, there are, there are many who -- other countries who have weapons of mass destruction. We're questioning the timing of this war, we're questioning the purpose of this war. And we think that it goes beyond just this so-called smokescreen of weapons of mass destruction.

But we're saying at this particular moment that there are inspectors on the ground, and they're doing their work. And like this -- the rest -- members of the Security Council have said, they want them to continue to do their work.

COLLINS: What is your reaction, Mr. Glover, to the U.S. soldiers and lawmakers who brought a lawsuit against the Bush administration -- this was on Thursday -- preventing the U.S. from invading Iraq without a congressional declaration of war? What do you think about that?

GLOVER: Well, I think that is an important, very important move by those soldiers and lawmakers. I think that it only bolsters an already very uncertain feeling about the potential war. So I think it is only -- it only bodes good that we're getting from all sectors now, even from the military, concerned about this potential war.

COLLINS: All right, Danny Glover, thanks for being with us this morning.

GLOVER: Thank you.

COLLINS: We do appreciate your time.

GLOVER: Thank you.

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







Aired February 15, 2003 - 09:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HIEDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: As Maria just mentioned, Danny Glover will be one of the protesters at the rally in New York, actor, Danny Glover. He is there now and joins us with more to talk about what is on today's agenda.
Good morning to you, Danny. Thanks for being here.

DANNY GLOVER, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Good morning.

COLLINS: I want to ask you, why are you getting involved in this? And what do you think the purpose for today is?

GLOVER: Well, I think the purpose for today is to let the rest of the world know that we are certainly opposed to war and war on speculation. I'm involved because, first of all, I'm a citizen, and I certainly am opposed to the potential war in Iraq.

COLLINS: Tell me why.

GLOVER: Well, the first -- first of all, I think that the war is unnecessary, it will cause further destabilization in the region. The war will unduly affect Iraqi women and children, who have already suffered tremendously from the sanctions.

And I think that the world, like everyone else in the world, the world has come -- has spoken clearly that it is, it has no to war, and has really been very clear message from the rest of the world. In Rome, there were a million people who marched. In London there are 500,000.

COLLINS: Course, we're still getting numbers in on those definitively. But, Danny, what...

GLOVER: Well, they were, they were announced on the radio. They were announced.

COLLINS: OK.

GLOVER: Yes, yes.

COLLINS: Talk to me about what your alternatives are, or what you and your group see as better solutions.

GLOVER: Well, it's not my group. I think there have been 107 cities that have -- that city councils that have passed resolutions denouncing the war. Just my group is just, is all over the country, on campuses, in civic -- civil society, in churches. All over the country, people are saying no to this war.

And there are better solutions. One of the solutions is to allow the inspections to continue. I mean, and if need be, to bring more -- to get more inspectors on the ground. So there other better solutions, no one has said really if there are weapons of mass destruction.

COLLINS: What if, in a couple of years, let's say, the inspections are still going on, possibly, and they fail. What -- at what point do they -- what does that mean to you? Are you willing to take that risk? Are the people that share your thoughts willing to take that risk?

GLOVER: Well, I'm talking about -- you keep saying people that share our thoughts. I'm talking about a movement that is building around the world that says no to war and yes to peace. So it's not us as against them. If you say it's us, it's the entire world who's making -- is -- who's carrying this message.

So on the one hand, we don't know what has occurred now. We don't know if there are, indeed, so-called weapons of mass destructions. Certainly, there are, there are, there are many who -- other countries who have weapons of mass destruction. We're questioning the timing of this war, we're questioning the purpose of this war. And we think that it goes beyond just this so-called smokescreen of weapons of mass destruction.

But we're saying at this particular moment that there are inspectors on the ground, and they're doing their work. And like this -- the rest -- members of the Security Council have said, they want them to continue to do their work.

COLLINS: What is your reaction, Mr. Glover, to the U.S. soldiers and lawmakers who brought a lawsuit against the Bush administration -- this was on Thursday -- preventing the U.S. from invading Iraq without a congressional declaration of war? What do you think about that?

GLOVER: Well, I think that is an important, very important move by those soldiers and lawmakers. I think that it only bolsters an already very uncertain feeling about the potential war. So I think it is only -- it only bodes good that we're getting from all sectors now, even from the military, concerned about this potential war.

COLLINS: All right, Danny Glover, thanks for being with us this morning.

GLOVER: Thank you.

COLLINS: We do appreciate your time.

GLOVER: Thank you.

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