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CNN Live Sunday

White House Reacts With Skepticism to Arafat's Speech

Aired December 16, 2001 - 18:09   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer says President Bush is waiting to see if Yasser Arafat's actions will back up his words. CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett is following the Bush administration's response to the events in the Middle East as well as Afghanistan -- Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Marty, there is very little distance this evening between the Bush White House and the Israeli government in responding to Mr. Arafat's speech.

While the Israeli government was more vocal in its skepticism, the White House chose its words carefully, but nevertheless underscored the fact that Mr. Bush will see more concrete actions from Mr. Arafat before being persuaded that the Palestinian leader is, in fact, waging an all-out campaign against terrorists in his midst.

Let me read to you a comment that Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, provided to reporters here at the White House today.

"Chairman Arafat spoke constructive words, but what's important is that they be followed up by concrete action. That's what will be measured. That's what the President will wait and see."

Between the lines and behind the scenes, Marty, I can tell you that here at the Bush White House, there is two things that they were encouraged by in the speech. One that Mr. Arafat declared the suicide bombings in Israel not only as an attack against innocent Israeli civilians, but an attack on the Palestinian Authority and the entire Palestinian movement.

The White House was happy to see Mr. Arafat said that. They also were happy to see that Mr. Arafat said that the Palestinian Authority would intervene and try to stop those from happening in the future.

So Mr. Arafat has said two things the White House is generally encouraged by. Now we'll wait to see if Mr. Arafat will deploy his large and well-armed police force to completely shut down Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the terrorist organizations the White House believes have been systematically undermining all attempts to obtain a cease- fire and what will come from a cease-fire which is a return to a political dialog. Marty.

SAVIDGE: Well in diplo-speak, when we hear the Israelis demand action, the U.S. demand action, what you describe there, getting the police force out there making arrests, is that specifically the action they want?

GARRETT: That is the action they want. They want specific arrests. They want complete eradication if that's at all possible of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. There's no deadline the White House has set for this. They want to keep that open-ended to prod Mr. Arafat along, to do as much as he possibly can.

They haven't seen the actions they're looking for yet, so they'll just say more is required, more is required, more is required, details to come later.

SAVIDGE: And what about this talk that Yasser Arafat being irrelevant? Is that the U.S. stance as well?

GARRETT: It's not the U.S. stance at all, but what the administration has made clear is that Mr. Arafat, to regain his if not relevancy, his centrality to the negotiating process, must get rid of the terrorists within his midst.

The President has made abundantly clear, the United States sees a vision for a Palestinian State. He made a declaratory statement to that effect in the well of the United Nations, a very symbolically important place to state that U.S. policy, and what happened after that policy was stated, a tremendous rise in violence.

So there's tremendous frustration here at the White House. It did what it thought the Palestinians wanted, by talking about this vision for a Palestinian State. What happened? More violence. The White House says the onus is now entirely on Mr. Arafat.

If you want a Palestinian State, if you want to bring to your people that which they so richly deserve in the eyes of the United States, you've got to get rid of these militants who are undermining your authority and making peace all the more difficult to achieve. Marty.

SAVIDGE: I'd like to switch to Afghanistan, Major, before we let you go. Tora Bora, now the anti-Taliban fighters say we've been to the mountain, Osama bin Laden is not there. Is there the potential for embarrassment now for the administration?

GARRETT: Well it's not necessarily embarrassment, but there is clearly an expectations management problem for the White House now. Last week, senior Pentagon officials were telling reporters "look, we believe Osama bin Laden and his top leaders if not cornered, are certainly being effectively surrounded."

That raised the expectation here at the White House and elsewhere, that a capture of Osama bin Laden might, in fact, be imminent. Well now this weekend, senior administration officials throughout the Sunday talk shows said "well, we don't know where he is."

Secretary of State Colin Powell made that very clear in one of the shows today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think we do know where he is. The best bet is he's probably still in Afghanistan, trying to avoid military forces, but I can't ignore the possibility that he might not be. He might have gotten out.

But as the President has said, wherever he is, we will get him whether it takes one day, one week, two years. He will be brought to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: Now back to the expectations again, Marty. The White House knew and debated somewhat aggressively internally that if that Osama bin Laden tape was, in fact, released it would dramatically increase the expectation, the hunger in America for his capture.

That in fact has happened. Well the White House believes on balance, it was more important to get that tape out, not only to underscore Osama bin Laden's core evilness, but also to improve coalition support throughout the world.

The White House believes that objective has been achieved. Nevertheless, they're having to deal with this expectations management problem now because there is clearly a desire to get Osama bin Laden, get him sooner rather than later, and now that early optimism of an eventual and imminent capture seems to be fading. They're going to have to manage expectations a little bit more aggressively. Marty.

SAVIDGE: When I was listening to U.S. officials in the week saying "we don't know where Osama is," I actually believed they knew where he was. Well, now I take them at their word. They don't really know where he may be.

But if he gets to Pakistan, could that not be embarrassing for the U.S. and what will that do to the relationship between that vital ally?

GARRETT: Well senior administration officials feel more confident, Marty, than they did at the beginning of this campaign that Pakistan has gotten the message about its relationship with Osama bin Laden.

They feel very good about the government of President Pervez Musharraf, that if, in fact, Osama bin Laden crosses over to Pakistan and the government becomes officially aware of it, that Osama bin Laden will be turned over the U.S. in very short order.

The only anxiety the U.S. officials have about bin Laden reaching Pakistan, is if in some way those who become aware of it within Pakistan retain some sort of alliance or some sort of affection for bin Laden and his movement.

It's no secret that some members of the Pakistani Intelligence Service harbor that kind of sympathy for Osama bin Laden. But what U.S. officials are betting on, is that those forces who are up near the parts of Pakistan where bin Laden may, in fact, enter are not at all loyal, or not at all sympathetic to bin Laden, but sympathetic to Pervez Musharraf, the leader of Pakistan, and will so notify him, will then notify the U.S. Government, thus avoiding embarrassment. That's the great hope here at the White House -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: We'll hope along with them. Major Garrett at the White House, thanks very much.

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