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CNN Live Sunday

Some Congressmen Question Wisdom of War With Iraq

Aired August 18, 2002 - 17:11   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: While President Bush ponders U.S. options against Iraq, some congressional leaders are questioning the wisdom of taking on Baghdad. They say any steps taken need to have the full support of America's allies and the American public. CNN's Senior White House Correspondent John King joins us from the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas with the very latest. Hi there, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Fredricka. President Bush out of our view today, a quiet day on the ranch but in full view the divides within the Republican Party, even the fellows like the president, like-minded conservatives on the issue of Iraq.

One Reagan administration veteran, Richard Pearl, saying that the United States waited way too long to deal with Osama bin Laden and it can not make the same mistake when it comes to dealing with Saddam Hussein.

Others though sounding a much more cautious note; Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, a very influential voice in the Senate on international affairs said the president needs to make a much more compelling case to the American people before he could go to war. He would have to explain how many troops, how much would it cost, who in the allies overseas would support the United States?

And adding his voice to the cautious attitude, Senator Chuck Hagel, another Republican of Nebraska, who says in addition to those issues raised by Senator Lugar, he has even more questions.

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SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R) NEBRASKA: The fundamental question is this, who replaces Saddam? Do you further destabilize the Middle East? What if, for example, he has weapons of mass destruction? We know biological chemical weapons he probably possesses some of that and the means to deliver them. What if that gets fragmented and some of that ends up in other hands and then it gets scattered around?

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KING: The president on Friday called this debate healthy and said he would listen to everybody, including the critics and the skeptics, but the White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett also making the rounds today saying that much of this debate is premature. He said Mr. Bush is being quite deliberative as he ponders his option toward Iraq, and in time once the president makes his decision, Dan Bartlett says he will explain it to the American people and to allies overseas and that the president expects overwhelming support then.

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DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: This is a threat that we must take seriously and we must do in a way that is responsible and deliberate, and that's something I think the allies understand the president takes seriously. This is one that, just like the war on terrorism, is such that we must do it right. We must do it thoughtfully. We must do it comprehensively and President Bush is committed to make sure that we make the world a more peaceful place.

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KING: White House officials telling us today that Mr. Bush plans a major military meeting at his ranch on Wednesday. Vice President Cheney is coming; National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, the Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as well as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers.

The main topic is military reforms and missile defense, although officials acknowledge there is likely to be at least some discussion of the contingency planning when it comes to Iraq. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, John King at the Western White House in Crawford, Texas, thank you very much.

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