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CNN Saturday Morning News
Colin Powell is meeting with Key Member of U.N.
Aired September 13, 2003 - 07:00 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.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to begin this hour with Iraq and with U.S. efforts to get more international help in rebuilding that wartorn country.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is currently meeting with key members of the U.N. Security Council gathered in Geneva today. He's warning that some of their wishes cannot be met realistically.
For more on his point of view and the meetings that are under way, we're joined by CNN's Sheila MacVicar live in Geneva. Sheila?
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Stephen.
Yes, Secretary of State Colin Powell is here. He is meeting with his counterparts of the other permanent five members of the Security Council, representatives of those countries which hold a veto at the U.N. Security Council over any future resolution.
What's on the table right now is a U.S. resolution which calls or authorizes the deployment of additional troops from more countries, something that the U.S. has made very clear that they would like to see.
Now, we're not talking about a lot of troops. We've heard from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over the course of the last week that what they're looking for is somewhere between 10,000 to 15,000 troops, and troops, perhaps most notably, from other Muslim countries, such as like Turkey and Pakistan, which have made clear that before they can deploy any troops, that they do want to see that additional resolution.
Now, what is being discussed here are proposed amendments put forward by the French, the -- and the Russians, the Chinese as well. But the French proposal being, perhaps, the most difficult one at the moment, which calls for an acceptance of U.S. military leadership over any U.N. force, but calls for a downgrading of U.S. authority over Iraq's civilian affairs and calls for a transfer to Iraq's governing council as quickly as possible.
The U.S. making clear from Secretary Powell earlier this week that such a quick transfer might, in fact, not be possible.
So there's a lot at stake here for both the U.S., which has made very clear that they want this U.N. resolution, that they think it's time that the U.N. take on a bigger role in Iraq, and for other members of the Security Council who have not supported the United States in this desire and in its going to war against Iraq, Stephen.
FRAZIER: And Sheila, you mention the French proposal specifically. Here it is again, France taking the lead in a position that's a little different from the United States. Is that reopening the rift that existed between those countries before the war?
MACVICAR: Well, we heard from President Bush earlier this week that he thought in his view it was time to, quote, "stop bickering and get down to business." Bickering, I don't think, is quite the view the French would have of their disagreements with the U.S. over what happened in Iraq, what should have happened in Iraq, a profound, deep chill, if you will, between -- in the transatlantic relationship between the United States and France.
Now, we are hearing from the nearby hotel where the principals have gathered -- they are supposed to be at lunch right now -- that there were some raised voices heard in a corridor as Secretary Powell and the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, were walking from one room to the next, suggesting that this might not be the quiet and calm environment that Secretary General Kofi Annan had hoped for, and suggesting also that this might be more difficult.
This is going to be a pretty short meeting, only a couple of hours. State Department confirming earlier today that secretary of state flies out of here and on to Kuwait and Iraq later today, Stephen.
FRAZIER: Those are wonderful insights, Sheila, especially in light of their professional diplomatic backgrounds. Raised voices. Thank you, Sheila MacVicar from Geneva.
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 September 13, 2003 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to begin this hour with Iraq and with U.S. efforts to get more international help in rebuilding that wartorn country.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is currently meeting with key members of the U.N. Security Council gathered in Geneva today. He's warning that some of their wishes cannot be met realistically.
For more on his point of view and the meetings that are under way, we're joined by CNN's Sheila MacVicar live in Geneva. Sheila?
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Stephen.
Yes, Secretary of State Colin Powell is here. He is meeting with his counterparts of the other permanent five members of the Security Council, representatives of those countries which hold a veto at the U.N. Security Council over any future resolution.
What's on the table right now is a U.S. resolution which calls or authorizes the deployment of additional troops from more countries, something that the U.S. has made very clear that they would like to see.
Now, we're not talking about a lot of troops. We've heard from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over the course of the last week that what they're looking for is somewhere between 10,000 to 15,000 troops, and troops, perhaps most notably, from other Muslim countries, such as like Turkey and Pakistan, which have made clear that before they can deploy any troops, that they do want to see that additional resolution.
Now, what is being discussed here are proposed amendments put forward by the French, the -- and the Russians, the Chinese as well. But the French proposal being, perhaps, the most difficult one at the moment, which calls for an acceptance of U.S. military leadership over any U.N. force, but calls for a downgrading of U.S. authority over Iraq's civilian affairs and calls for a transfer to Iraq's governing council as quickly as possible.
The U.S. making clear from Secretary Powell earlier this week that such a quick transfer might, in fact, not be possible.
So there's a lot at stake here for both the U.S., which has made very clear that they want this U.N. resolution, that they think it's time that the U.N. take on a bigger role in Iraq, and for other members of the Security Council who have not supported the United States in this desire and in its going to war against Iraq, Stephen.
FRAZIER: And Sheila, you mention the French proposal specifically. Here it is again, France taking the lead in a position that's a little different from the United States. Is that reopening the rift that existed between those countries before the war?
MACVICAR: Well, we heard from President Bush earlier this week that he thought in his view it was time to, quote, "stop bickering and get down to business." Bickering, I don't think, is quite the view the French would have of their disagreements with the U.S. over what happened in Iraq, what should have happened in Iraq, a profound, deep chill, if you will, between -- in the transatlantic relationship between the United States and France.
Now, we are hearing from the nearby hotel where the principals have gathered -- they are supposed to be at lunch right now -- that there were some raised voices heard in a corridor as Secretary Powell and the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, were walking from one room to the next, suggesting that this might not be the quiet and calm environment that Secretary General Kofi Annan had hoped for, and suggesting also that this might be more difficult.
This is going to be a pretty short meeting, only a couple of hours. State Department confirming earlier today that secretary of state flies out of here and on to Kuwait and Iraq later today, Stephen.
FRAZIER: Those are wonderful insights, Sheila, especially in light of their professional diplomatic backgrounds. Raised voices. Thank you, Sheila MacVicar from Geneva.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
