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CNN Live Sunday
Bush Sets Deadline for Security Council to Act
Aired March 16, 2003 - 17:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tomorrow is a moment of truth for the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A moment of truth for the world. The president says Monday is the final day for the U.N. Security Council to act on a resolution. Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein says he is ready to fight the U.S. anywhere in the world.
Good afternoon, I'm Anderson Cooper from the CNN Center in Atlanta. In a minute, we're going to have live reports from the White House and the Azores. And we'll bring you the president's entire conference in case you missed it. It is one you should see.
I think it's fair to say there were extraordinary moves in the escalating showdown with Iraq. Checking the latest developments now. President Bush calling Monday a moment of truth, as we just said. He says it is the last day for a diplomatic solution to prevent a military confrontation. Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain echoed the president's call for a one-day deadline. Blair is calling for the U.N. to decide on the second resolution on Iraq overnight. U.N. chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix isn't ruling out another visit to Baghdad. He is expected to take up the issue with the Security Council tomorrow. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is lashing out. He threatens a global war if Iraq is attacked. He says it is a great lie that Iraq has any banned weapons and says Baghdad is ready to fight the U.S. anywhere in the world. Iraq is already on a war footing, meaning its military commanders are now in control of four regions of the country.
So to summarize, the next 24 hours will probably determine whether there is a war in Iraq or not, and just -- and probably when. President Bush and his coalition of the willing say they are giving diplomacy one more day. After that, it is anyone's guess. CNN's Chris Burns is in the Azores. And John King is at the White House. We are joined by both of them. Chris, let me begin with you. Just summarize a little bit what you heard, what really stuck out to you from the press conference today.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, absolutely, the most dramatic line was, of course, the moment of truth line by President Bush. "This is the moment of truth tomorrow for the world." Saying it in another way, he said the diplomatic window closes on Monday. The question is, will this coalition push a U.N. vote in the Security Council tomorrow? They left that very unclear, obviously, because if they did push it and the vote lost, that would be a serious defeat, an embarrassment for that coalition of the willing. They're going to press it and see if they can get the votes. There are only four guaranteed votes out of the nine they need on the 15-member Security Council.
So it's going to be very, very trying, and trying to get past the threatened vetoes of China, Russia, and France. So very, very difficult. And it doesn't seem very promising. And this is just the throwing down of the gauntlet at the last minute to see if perhaps some countries might turn around and actually vote for it. Other issues covered were, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that they have waited long, a very long time, 12 years for these U.N. resolutions to pan out to disarm Saddam Hussein. And they have not worked. And any more discussion of these resolutions means only more delay, and that delay should not continue.
Also, they talked about the after Saddam. What happens after Saddam? President Bush holding out offering to the Iraqi people the possibility of a lifting of sanctions if Saddam is replaced. And that the -- this coalition did promise to take care of the Iraqi people, to change the country of Iraq after Saddam is toppled. So looking to try to press the world community and, especially, the Security Council tomorrow, and looking ahead if they do go in and attack Saddam Hussein, what would come afterward, all very important. Also talking about the Middle East peace process, very important for Tony Blair and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, both of them very much under fire, very much under pressure by their own people -- Anderson.
COOPER: Well, the summit is over and a short one. The question is, what happens tomorrow. For that we go to John King at the White House -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Mr. Bush making his way back across the Atlantic now. We are told by White House officials, he is likely to make some telephone calls from Air Force One to those key undecided members of the Security Council. Mr. Bush will be back here late this evening. He will meet with his national security team in the morning. They will watch throughout the day. As Chris noted, the decision to be made at some point early tomorrow afternoon is whether to pursue a vote at the Security Council. White House officials say, if there is a majority, they will go for the vote. If not, they will not seek a vote. And instead, they will prepare to go to war outside of any new vote in the Security Council.
And we are told as part of that effort, look for the president to pivot quickly from whatever happens at the United Nations tomorrow, and by the middle of the week, some senior officials suggesting tomorrow night, the president could be making an address from here at the White House, an address to prepare the American people for the possibility of war within days. And within that address, we are told, a direct ultimatum to Saddam Hussein that he must leave the country or face a U.S.-led military confrontation. One point of that address would be to prepare the American people and issue that ultimatum. Another point would be to put inspectors, diplomats from friendly nations on notice, and journalists on notice, that they should get out of Iraq -- Anderson.
COOPER: John, at the press conference, as some observers said that President Bush showed nothing short of contempt for France saying that France, quote, "showed its cards," and that they had promised to veto anything that held Saddam to account. You mentioned that on the flight back President Bush will be speaking to other members of the Security Council. Do we know, is President Bush still speaking to French President Jacques Chirac?
KING: It has been more than five weeks since the two leaders have spoken. White House officials in recent days leading up to this summit have said, what's the point? That France is out there saying that under no circumstances will it vote for a resolution that holds Saddam Hussein to account, as the president put it. That puts out the prospect of military action. What is the White House has been saying with increasing scorn is that France is, essentially, saying crime is bad, but it will never support any punishment. That is the White House argument right now. Whether the two leaders will speak in the end remains to be seen.
The president has not spoken to President Chirac for more than five weeks. He has not spoken to Prime Minister Schroeder of Germany for even longer than that. Relationships with key allies deteriorating. That is one of the major subplots of this confrontation, one of the major tests of this president and the allies looking forward is, can he repair these relationships after a war.? The president talked about that in his news conference today, making it clear in his remarks that he very much believed there will be a war. There will be a post-war reconstruction in Iraq. And at that moment, the president said, perhaps the United Nations can, quote, "get its legs of responsibility back." So the president looking ahead quite a bit. There is no question relations with France and, especially, Germany very weak at the moment.
COOPER: It has been a remarkable day. John King at the White House, Chris Burns in the Azores. Appreciate you joining us, both of you. Tanks very much.
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 March 16, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tomorrow is a moment of truth for the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: A moment of truth for the world. The president says Monday is the final day for the U.N. Security Council to act on a resolution. Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein says he is ready to fight the U.S. anywhere in the world.
Good afternoon, I'm Anderson Cooper from the CNN Center in Atlanta. In a minute, we're going to have live reports from the White House and the Azores. And we'll bring you the president's entire conference in case you missed it. It is one you should see.
I think it's fair to say there were extraordinary moves in the escalating showdown with Iraq. Checking the latest developments now. President Bush calling Monday a moment of truth, as we just said. He says it is the last day for a diplomatic solution to prevent a military confrontation. Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain echoed the president's call for a one-day deadline. Blair is calling for the U.N. to decide on the second resolution on Iraq overnight. U.N. chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix isn't ruling out another visit to Baghdad. He is expected to take up the issue with the Security Council tomorrow. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is lashing out. He threatens a global war if Iraq is attacked. He says it is a great lie that Iraq has any banned weapons and says Baghdad is ready to fight the U.S. anywhere in the world. Iraq is already on a war footing, meaning its military commanders are now in control of four regions of the country.
So to summarize, the next 24 hours will probably determine whether there is a war in Iraq or not, and just -- and probably when. President Bush and his coalition of the willing say they are giving diplomacy one more day. After that, it is anyone's guess. CNN's Chris Burns is in the Azores. And John King is at the White House. We are joined by both of them. Chris, let me begin with you. Just summarize a little bit what you heard, what really stuck out to you from the press conference today.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, absolutely, the most dramatic line was, of course, the moment of truth line by President Bush. "This is the moment of truth tomorrow for the world." Saying it in another way, he said the diplomatic window closes on Monday. The question is, will this coalition push a U.N. vote in the Security Council tomorrow? They left that very unclear, obviously, because if they did push it and the vote lost, that would be a serious defeat, an embarrassment for that coalition of the willing. They're going to press it and see if they can get the votes. There are only four guaranteed votes out of the nine they need on the 15-member Security Council.
So it's going to be very, very trying, and trying to get past the threatened vetoes of China, Russia, and France. So very, very difficult. And it doesn't seem very promising. And this is just the throwing down of the gauntlet at the last minute to see if perhaps some countries might turn around and actually vote for it. Other issues covered were, according to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying that they have waited long, a very long time, 12 years for these U.N. resolutions to pan out to disarm Saddam Hussein. And they have not worked. And any more discussion of these resolutions means only more delay, and that delay should not continue.
Also, they talked about the after Saddam. What happens after Saddam? President Bush holding out offering to the Iraqi people the possibility of a lifting of sanctions if Saddam is replaced. And that the -- this coalition did promise to take care of the Iraqi people, to change the country of Iraq after Saddam is toppled. So looking to try to press the world community and, especially, the Security Council tomorrow, and looking ahead if they do go in and attack Saddam Hussein, what would come afterward, all very important. Also talking about the Middle East peace process, very important for Tony Blair and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, both of them very much under fire, very much under pressure by their own people -- Anderson.
COOPER: Well, the summit is over and a short one. The question is, what happens tomorrow. For that we go to John King at the White House -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Mr. Bush making his way back across the Atlantic now. We are told by White House officials, he is likely to make some telephone calls from Air Force One to those key undecided members of the Security Council. Mr. Bush will be back here late this evening. He will meet with his national security team in the morning. They will watch throughout the day. As Chris noted, the decision to be made at some point early tomorrow afternoon is whether to pursue a vote at the Security Council. White House officials say, if there is a majority, they will go for the vote. If not, they will not seek a vote. And instead, they will prepare to go to war outside of any new vote in the Security Council.
And we are told as part of that effort, look for the president to pivot quickly from whatever happens at the United Nations tomorrow, and by the middle of the week, some senior officials suggesting tomorrow night, the president could be making an address from here at the White House, an address to prepare the American people for the possibility of war within days. And within that address, we are told, a direct ultimatum to Saddam Hussein that he must leave the country or face a U.S.-led military confrontation. One point of that address would be to prepare the American people and issue that ultimatum. Another point would be to put inspectors, diplomats from friendly nations on notice, and journalists on notice, that they should get out of Iraq -- Anderson.
COOPER: John, at the press conference, as some observers said that President Bush showed nothing short of contempt for France saying that France, quote, "showed its cards," and that they had promised to veto anything that held Saddam to account. You mentioned that on the flight back President Bush will be speaking to other members of the Security Council. Do we know, is President Bush still speaking to French President Jacques Chirac?
KING: It has been more than five weeks since the two leaders have spoken. White House officials in recent days leading up to this summit have said, what's the point? That France is out there saying that under no circumstances will it vote for a resolution that holds Saddam Hussein to account, as the president put it. That puts out the prospect of military action. What is the White House has been saying with increasing scorn is that France is, essentially, saying crime is bad, but it will never support any punishment. That is the White House argument right now. Whether the two leaders will speak in the end remains to be seen.
The president has not spoken to President Chirac for more than five weeks. He has not spoken to Prime Minister Schroeder of Germany for even longer than that. Relationships with key allies deteriorating. That is one of the major subplots of this confrontation, one of the major tests of this president and the allies looking forward is, can he repair these relationships after a war.? The president talked about that in his news conference today, making it clear in his remarks that he very much believed there will be a war. There will be a post-war reconstruction in Iraq. And at that moment, the president said, perhaps the United Nations can, quote, "get its legs of responsibility back." So the president looking ahead quite a bit. There is no question relations with France and, especially, Germany very weak at the moment.
COOPER: It has been a remarkable day. John King at the White House, Chris Burns in the Azores. Appreciate you joining us, both of you. Tanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
