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CNN Live Sunday
White House Officials Hit Airwaves to Defend Bush
Aired July 13, 2003 - 16:00 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.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with the fallout over Iraq's alleged attempts to obtain materials for weapons of mass destruction. Bush administration officials hit the airwaves today to calm a storm over a claim in the State of the Union Address. Let's turn to CNN's national correspondent. Bob Franken. Hello, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To try and make, Rhonda, to try and make their predictions that this case is closed to reality, but they reckoned without the various Democrats who were also on the various Sunday talk shows. Presidential candidates, many of them, who said, no, this is not over yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, the case is not closed. I don't believe that George Tenet saying something about responsibility ends the question of ultimate responsibility, nor does it answer the question or questions about what really happened. Nor does it provide an answer, which is the most critical one, which is, are Americans safer today than they were three years ago and do we have the kind of knowledge about our intelligence gathering that allows us to make the judgment that we are safer? I believe there are enormous questions still about the overall intelligence given to the Congress, the quality of that intelligence, and even about the politics that entered into the judgment of taking that famous phrase out of one speech but leaving it in another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And what about the CIA director, George Tenet, the one who took responsibility for those 16 words that were in the State of the Union that have become so controversial six months later? What about him? Top administration officials repeatedly had to answer the question, should he go?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: George Tenet is a wonderful public servant. And the Central Intelligence Agency and the intelligence community does a good job. I mean, things happen like this, and it seems to me that that would be way out of line. I think very highly of Director Tenet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: So for the moment it looks like the CIA director has done the right thing as far as the president is concerned by taking the responsibility. But that does not mean that the opposition is ready to give him the responsibility, at least all of it. Rhonda?
SCHAFFLER: And Bob, where do we go from here, then?
FRANKEN: Well, that's a good question. I think we're going to have to see just how the talk shows play tomorrow and see whether there are other issues that overshadow this. But this is really part of a larger picture. Things have not gone well in Iraq, and now many people are saying that perhaps part of the problem is is because they didn't really get a straightforward presentation about what the country was getting into when it decided to take on Iraq.
SCHAFFLER: Bob Franken in Washington. Thanks so much, Bob.
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 July 13, 2003 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with the fallout over Iraq's alleged attempts to obtain materials for weapons of mass destruction. Bush administration officials hit the airwaves today to calm a storm over a claim in the State of the Union Address. Let's turn to CNN's national correspondent. Bob Franken. Hello, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To try and make, Rhonda, to try and make their predictions that this case is closed to reality, but they reckoned without the various Democrats who were also on the various Sunday talk shows. Presidential candidates, many of them, who said, no, this is not over yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, the case is not closed. I don't believe that George Tenet saying something about responsibility ends the question of ultimate responsibility, nor does it answer the question or questions about what really happened. Nor does it provide an answer, which is the most critical one, which is, are Americans safer today than they were three years ago and do we have the kind of knowledge about our intelligence gathering that allows us to make the judgment that we are safer? I believe there are enormous questions still about the overall intelligence given to the Congress, the quality of that intelligence, and even about the politics that entered into the judgment of taking that famous phrase out of one speech but leaving it in another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And what about the CIA director, George Tenet, the one who took responsibility for those 16 words that were in the State of the Union that have become so controversial six months later? What about him? Top administration officials repeatedly had to answer the question, should he go?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: George Tenet is a wonderful public servant. And the Central Intelligence Agency and the intelligence community does a good job. I mean, things happen like this, and it seems to me that that would be way out of line. I think very highly of Director Tenet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: So for the moment it looks like the CIA director has done the right thing as far as the president is concerned by taking the responsibility. But that does not mean that the opposition is ready to give him the responsibility, at least all of it. Rhonda?
SCHAFFLER: And Bob, where do we go from here, then?
FRANKEN: Well, that's a good question. I think we're going to have to see just how the talk shows play tomorrow and see whether there are other issues that overshadow this. But this is really part of a larger picture. Things have not gone well in Iraq, and now many people are saying that perhaps part of the problem is is because they didn't really get a straightforward presentation about what the country was getting into when it decided to take on Iraq.
SCHAFFLER: Bob Franken in Washington. Thanks so much, Bob.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
