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Cohen Weighs in on New Hampshire Primaries

Aired January 27, 2004 - 12:30   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.


ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We're joined now by former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, for our regularly weekly discussion of events in the news. He now heads The Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm.
Mr. Cohen, good to see you.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Good to see you, Zain.

VERJEE: How do you see foreign policy shaping the debate in New Hampshire, influencing voters? Do they care about Iraq and North Korea enough?

COHEN: Oh, I think they care about Iraq, North Korea and all the foreign policy issues. But I think at this point in our electoral process they're more concerned about the character and the abilities of the individual candidates. They first look to likability, do they like a candidate, how he or she presented herself. And do they listen to their message? Do they have the ability to carry that message across the country in an effective way so as to "defeat' President Bush? So likability, and also electability are the two key issues.

I think the concern about foreign policy is a subside of that. That comes into focus much later in the process. But not as intense right now.

VERJEE: It came into focus when the former U.S. chief weapons inspector, David Kay, came up and said there's no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The candidates were able to use that as they were campaigning in New Hampshire. Did they do so effectively, and did it resonate with people?

COHEN: I think David Kay, who enjoys enormous respect certainly in the international community, but also here at home, I think that he has made a very powerful statement in terms of the likelihood of finding any chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction is rather remote at this point. But I think it comes so late in this particular race in New Hampshire that it won't have a defining effect as such. But as the campaign goes on, as the primaries continue, then the Kay report or statement, coupled with other factors, will start to, I think, become much more intense and effective in terms of giving the Democrats an opportunity to try and divide -- show a division between themselves and the Republican Party.

VERJEE: David Kay cited intelligence failure. He called for a complete overhaul of the CIA. You've been on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Do you think he's right? Does the CIA need to be overhauled?

COHEN: I think the CIA certainly has an obligation to examine what has gone wrong as such, or where the failures have been, or the inadequacies. We've known for years that we're lacking in human intelligence. The United States has enormous scientific and technological capabilities. It lacks the needed on-the-grounds, on the -- boots on-the- grounds, so to speak, capability to have human intelligence. And I think that's where the great deficiency is.

Secondly, I think that the administration should try to move as quickly as it can to deal with this issue about whether the intelligence was inadequate or insufficient, or whether it was being manipulated. I think the earlier the administration can deal with that, the better, rather than allowing it to fester and become a major issue going into the November election.

VERJEE: Let's talk about Pakistan. And the issue there, the transfer of nuclear technology and nuclear secrets to Iran, to Libya, do you think that that kind of transfer could have happened without the knowledge of Pakistan intelligence officials in the country, the powerful ISI?

COHEN: I don't know the answer to that. I think the issue is one of -- that Senator Baker, when he was the majority leader in the Senate before that, actually, when he said, what do they know and when did they know it. The question will become, how high up the chain of command was this knowledge?

President Musharraf, who has been a very strong supporter of the United States and the coalition forces in the war against terror, appears to now indicate that high-ranking scientists, at least a dozen of them, may have been involved for personal profit in the transfer of this kind of technology. Did it really go up through the intelligence services? We don't know at this point, but it's certainly something that President Musharraf is going to have to confront and hopefully resolve.

VERJEE: President Musharraf has pointed out, though, look, it's just not only Pakistan doing this, but a lot of other European countries were involved in nuclear technology, transfer to a country like Iran. Do you think that that issue isn't getting enough attention, or what do you think?

COHEN: I think it's one of the most important issues that all of us have to contend with. The notion that there is a proliferation of nuclear technology, be it coming from Pakistan or North Korea or any other country, should be of concern to the entire world. Materials ending up in the hands of those who have indicated they're dedicated to destroying large amounts of the world population certainly is a sobering thought. So the greater control that we can get over nuclear materials, and to prevent them from falling into hands of those individuals who are determined to cause catastrophic harm, I think the better.

VERJEE: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you again next week.

COHEN: Good to see you, Zain.

END

TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE THE SECURE ONLINE ORDER FROM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com



Aired January 27, 2004 - 12:30:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We're joined now by former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, for our regularly weekly discussion of events in the news. He now heads The Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm.
Mr. Cohen, good to see you.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Good to see you, Zain.

VERJEE: How do you see foreign policy shaping the debate in New Hampshire, influencing voters? Do they care about Iraq and North Korea enough?

COHEN: Oh, I think they care about Iraq, North Korea and all the foreign policy issues. But I think at this point in our electoral process they're more concerned about the character and the abilities of the individual candidates. They first look to likability, do they like a candidate, how he or she presented herself. And do they listen to their message? Do they have the ability to carry that message across the country in an effective way so as to "defeat' President Bush? So likability, and also electability are the two key issues.

I think the concern about foreign policy is a subside of that. That comes into focus much later in the process. But not as intense right now.

VERJEE: It came into focus when the former U.S. chief weapons inspector, David Kay, came up and said there's no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The candidates were able to use that as they were campaigning in New Hampshire. Did they do so effectively, and did it resonate with people?

COHEN: I think David Kay, who enjoys enormous respect certainly in the international community, but also here at home, I think that he has made a very powerful statement in terms of the likelihood of finding any chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction is rather remote at this point. But I think it comes so late in this particular race in New Hampshire that it won't have a defining effect as such. But as the campaign goes on, as the primaries continue, then the Kay report or statement, coupled with other factors, will start to, I think, become much more intense and effective in terms of giving the Democrats an opportunity to try and divide -- show a division between themselves and the Republican Party.

VERJEE: David Kay cited intelligence failure. He called for a complete overhaul of the CIA. You've been on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Do you think he's right? Does the CIA need to be overhauled?

COHEN: I think the CIA certainly has an obligation to examine what has gone wrong as such, or where the failures have been, or the inadequacies. We've known for years that we're lacking in human intelligence. The United States has enormous scientific and technological capabilities. It lacks the needed on-the-grounds, on the -- boots on-the- grounds, so to speak, capability to have human intelligence. And I think that's where the great deficiency is.

Secondly, I think that the administration should try to move as quickly as it can to deal with this issue about whether the intelligence was inadequate or insufficient, or whether it was being manipulated. I think the earlier the administration can deal with that, the better, rather than allowing it to fester and become a major issue going into the November election.

VERJEE: Let's talk about Pakistan. And the issue there, the transfer of nuclear technology and nuclear secrets to Iran, to Libya, do you think that that kind of transfer could have happened without the knowledge of Pakistan intelligence officials in the country, the powerful ISI?

COHEN: I don't know the answer to that. I think the issue is one of -- that Senator Baker, when he was the majority leader in the Senate before that, actually, when he said, what do they know and when did they know it. The question will become, how high up the chain of command was this knowledge?

President Musharraf, who has been a very strong supporter of the United States and the coalition forces in the war against terror, appears to now indicate that high-ranking scientists, at least a dozen of them, may have been involved for personal profit in the transfer of this kind of technology. Did it really go up through the intelligence services? We don't know at this point, but it's certainly something that President Musharraf is going to have to confront and hopefully resolve.

VERJEE: President Musharraf has pointed out, though, look, it's just not only Pakistan doing this, but a lot of other European countries were involved in nuclear technology, transfer to a country like Iran. Do you think that that issue isn't getting enough attention, or what do you think?

COHEN: I think it's one of the most important issues that all of us have to contend with. The notion that there is a proliferation of nuclear technology, be it coming from Pakistan or North Korea or any other country, should be of concern to the entire world. Materials ending up in the hands of those who have indicated they're dedicated to destroying large amounts of the world population certainly is a sobering thought. So the greater control that we can get over nuclear materials, and to prevent them from falling into hands of those individuals who are determined to cause catastrophic harm, I think the better.

VERJEE: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you again next week.

COHEN: Good to see you, Zain.

END

TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE THE SECURE ONLINE ORDER FROM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com