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CNN Live Sunday
Bush Aides Fan Out on Talk Shows
Aired January 19, 2003 - 18:03 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we want to take a closer look at the word on the morning talk shows today and the war strategy when it comes to Iraq. CNN's Dana Bash is at the White House right now. Dana, a lot of strong words being traded and a lot of theories on what's going to happen next.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Well, this morning, the president's deputies made it clear that while they might not find a smoking gun in Iraq, they don't need to.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): As the president returned to the White House from a weekend at Camp David, down the street, protesters marched with a message, "Do not invade Iraq." One way to avert war, say Mr. Bush's deputies...
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I would be delighted if Saddam Hussein threw in the towel, said the game's up, the international community has caught me, and I'm -- I'll just leave.
BASH: But U.S. officials are not holding out hope that Iraq's leaders would agree to exile. So with little more than a week before weapons inspectors report their findings to the U.N., the president's top national security advisers fanned out on the talk shows with a coordinated message.
RUMSFELD: The test here is not whether they can find something. The test is whether or not Iraq is going to cooperate.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: This is about the disarmament of Iraq, not about weapons inspectors hunting and pecking all over the country.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Time is running out, and we just can't keep hunting and pecking and looking and trying to see if we can capture something.
BASH: Bush deputies say the January 27 report would start the last phase of diplomacy with Iraq. But U.N. officials, world leaders and some U.S. lawmakers continue to press for more time.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: I think we've got to do what they've suggested, give them the time to complete their work, to do their job, to ensure that they can satisfy the international community, that this effort has exhausted -- has been exhausted before we even consider any other action or alternative approach.
BASH: U.S. officials say this week's findings of 12 warheads for chemical weapons and documents in an Iraqi scientists's house will contribute to the body of evidence they say already exists against Saddam Hussein.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And Carol, Secretary of State Colin Powell is now in New York at the U.N., where he'll meet with his counterparts from around the world, and we're told that he'll try to convince them that Saddam Hussein has not complied with these inspections, and that alone would justify military action -- Carol.
LIN: Dana, I think what's still confusing to a lot of people, though, is the distinction between the Bush administration's policy towards Iraq, where they haven't found any weapons of mass destruction yet, to theirs with North Korea, which admits that it's developing a nuclear program.
BASH: Carol, we heard a lot of talk about that difference also this morning on the talk shows. Had Democratic lawmakers, Democratic senators saying that yes, Iraq is a problem, but North Korea is a bigger problem. That the United States and the Bush administration needs to deal with that and needs to put focus on that.
Now, here at the White House, they're saying that they are dealing with North Korea, just in a different way, diplomatically, that they have got representatives from the State Department in the region, in China and in Japan, right now as we speak, dealing with North Korea's neighbors, trying to use them to convince North Korea to stop its nuclear program.
Again, they are saying that they are -- that they don't intend to use military action, by any means in North Korea, but that it is still an option on the table. And they'll keep it that way -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Dana Bash, reporting live from the White House on a developing situation.
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 January 19, 2003 - 18:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we want to take a closer look at the word on the morning talk shows today and the war strategy when it comes to Iraq. CNN's Dana Bash is at the White House right now. Dana, a lot of strong words being traded and a lot of theories on what's going to happen next.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Well, this morning, the president's deputies made it clear that while they might not find a smoking gun in Iraq, they don't need to.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): As the president returned to the White House from a weekend at Camp David, down the street, protesters marched with a message, "Do not invade Iraq." One way to avert war, say Mr. Bush's deputies...
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I would be delighted if Saddam Hussein threw in the towel, said the game's up, the international community has caught me, and I'm -- I'll just leave.
BASH: But U.S. officials are not holding out hope that Iraq's leaders would agree to exile. So with little more than a week before weapons inspectors report their findings to the U.N., the president's top national security advisers fanned out on the talk shows with a coordinated message.
RUMSFELD: The test here is not whether they can find something. The test is whether or not Iraq is going to cooperate.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: This is about the disarmament of Iraq, not about weapons inspectors hunting and pecking all over the country.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Time is running out, and we just can't keep hunting and pecking and looking and trying to see if we can capture something.
BASH: Bush deputies say the January 27 report would start the last phase of diplomacy with Iraq. But U.N. officials, world leaders and some U.S. lawmakers continue to press for more time.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: I think we've got to do what they've suggested, give them the time to complete their work, to do their job, to ensure that they can satisfy the international community, that this effort has exhausted -- has been exhausted before we even consider any other action or alternative approach.
BASH: U.S. officials say this week's findings of 12 warheads for chemical weapons and documents in an Iraqi scientists's house will contribute to the body of evidence they say already exists against Saddam Hussein.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And Carol, Secretary of State Colin Powell is now in New York at the U.N., where he'll meet with his counterparts from around the world, and we're told that he'll try to convince them that Saddam Hussein has not complied with these inspections, and that alone would justify military action -- Carol.
LIN: Dana, I think what's still confusing to a lot of people, though, is the distinction between the Bush administration's policy towards Iraq, where they haven't found any weapons of mass destruction yet, to theirs with North Korea, which admits that it's developing a nuclear program.
BASH: Carol, we heard a lot of talk about that difference also this morning on the talk shows. Had Democratic lawmakers, Democratic senators saying that yes, Iraq is a problem, but North Korea is a bigger problem. That the United States and the Bush administration needs to deal with that and needs to put focus on that.
Now, here at the White House, they're saying that they are dealing with North Korea, just in a different way, diplomatically, that they have got representatives from the State Department in the region, in China and in Japan, right now as we speak, dealing with North Korea's neighbors, trying to use them to convince North Korea to stop its nuclear program.
Again, they are saying that they are -- that they don't intend to use military action, by any means in North Korea, but that it is still an option on the table. And they'll keep it that way -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Dana Bash, reporting live from the White House on a developing situation.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
