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William Cohen on 9/11 Commission

Aired March 30, 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.


DALJIT DHALIWAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the commission is a 10-member bipartisan panel. It was created by Congress in 2002 to investigate the September 11 terror attacks. It's charted to present a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the attacks, including the preparedness for an immediate response to the attacks. It's also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
Well, the commission is expected to present its findings by July the 26th. And for some analysis and perspective on the issue, let's turn to former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen. He joins us often for our weekly discussion of events in the news, and he now heads up The Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm.

Thanks so much for joining us.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Pleasure, Daljit.

DHALIWAL: So, why does Condi get the green light to testify after all?

COHEN: I think because the political arm of the White House kept looking at the polling numbers. And those numbers started to show that more than 50 percent of the people who were polled believe that the White House had something to hide.

Even though the president seems to be gaining against Senator Kerry in some of the other polls, nonetheless, this was cutting at the very core of President Bush's message of trust and that he had taken appropriate action. So I think that they saw the inevitable handwriting that we saw on the wall and decided to accept that inevitability and go before -- have her go before the commission.

DHALIWAL: So you think it was becoming a political embarrassment? And rather that the White House feeling that the American public had a right to know because Condoleezza Rice had some very important information, that the public would like to hear.

COHEN: Well, I think from the very beginning the administration was not eager to have this commission set up. It opposed it initially for quiet a period of time, and then finally endorsed its creation.

And so I think any White House has certainly some qualms about independent commissions conducting investigations of the executive branch's behavior. But I think that inevitably the political factor had to be taken into account.

They were standing on principle; namely, executive privilege, separation of powers. But that proper stance as such was being eroded in terms of the political implications of that. I don't think the president could afford to have that take place during an election year.

DHALIWAL: Well, let's just talk a little bit about the fact that privilege was being cited here. Do you think that is genuine? Do you think that is a start? Or is it completely kind of confusing given the fact that they've now turned around and done it anyway?

COHEN: No, it's a very important principle that I think every administration wants to try to adhere to; namely, not having those who are not confirmed by the Senate, especially the national security adviser, who meets daily with the president of the United States and has very private, intimate conversations about policy, no president would like to have that individual go before Congress, or a commission created by Congress, and have to answer questions about what he or she said or saw during that time. Now, that's an important executive privilege they would like to maintain.

In this particular case, by virtue of the sheer outrage of the 9/11 event, killing 3,000 people in that terrible day, I think they had to recognize you can carve out exceptions. This is an exception; it will not be used as a precedent for all future commissions or members of Congress to try and drag key members of the administration who are not subject to Senate confirmation before the Congress. I think they can do both.

DHALIWAL: All right. The other big story that we've been following this week, of course, is new members coming into NATO. Do you think this makes it more likely now that the western military alliance will be willing to help out in Iraq?

COHEN: Well, I think the new members will be more inclined to try and show their support for the United States in this endeavor in Iraq. There was a momentum -- a sense of momentum building for other countries to join them. For example, the German foreign minister indicated in a public forum that even though Germany opposed the attack in Iraq, that if there was a consensus on the part of the NATO members, that Germany would not stand in the way.

That was a pretty good indication a consensus was building for some participation, in addition to being in Afghanistan moving into Iraq. Whether Spain and the most horrific incident that happened last week in Spain will undermine that dynamic remains to be seen. But I think the new members would want to be as supportive as they can be.

DHALIWAL: Well, one country that is watching this very closely, of course, is Russia. Do you think it has anything to worry about?

COHEN: Well, I think Russia certainly has to contend with acts of terrorism in its own country. The Chechen conflict has been waging on for -- raging on, I should say, for some time now. And Russia also has a concern with the spreading extremism within its own borders and beyond.

So I would assume that Russia has an interest in trying to join forces for the international community. And I would think that they would certainly want to be helpful, even though not a formal part of NATO, to be sure. But they have a NATO relationship which I think is very important.

DHALIWAL: All right. William Cohen, thanks very much for joining us.

COHEN: Pleasure, as always.

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 March 30, 2004 - 12:30:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DALJIT DHALIWAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the commission is a 10-member bipartisan panel. It was created by Congress in 2002 to investigate the September 11 terror attacks. It's charted to present a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the attacks, including the preparedness for an immediate response to the attacks. It's also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
Well, the commission is expected to present its findings by July the 26th. And for some analysis and perspective on the issue, let's turn to former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen. He joins us often for our weekly discussion of events in the news, and he now heads up The Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm.

Thanks so much for joining us.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Pleasure, Daljit.

DHALIWAL: So, why does Condi get the green light to testify after all?

COHEN: I think because the political arm of the White House kept looking at the polling numbers. And those numbers started to show that more than 50 percent of the people who were polled believe that the White House had something to hide.

Even though the president seems to be gaining against Senator Kerry in some of the other polls, nonetheless, this was cutting at the very core of President Bush's message of trust and that he had taken appropriate action. So I think that they saw the inevitable handwriting that we saw on the wall and decided to accept that inevitability and go before -- have her go before the commission.

DHALIWAL: So you think it was becoming a political embarrassment? And rather that the White House feeling that the American public had a right to know because Condoleezza Rice had some very important information, that the public would like to hear.

COHEN: Well, I think from the very beginning the administration was not eager to have this commission set up. It opposed it initially for quiet a period of time, and then finally endorsed its creation.

And so I think any White House has certainly some qualms about independent commissions conducting investigations of the executive branch's behavior. But I think that inevitably the political factor had to be taken into account.

They were standing on principle; namely, executive privilege, separation of powers. But that proper stance as such was being eroded in terms of the political implications of that. I don't think the president could afford to have that take place during an election year.

DHALIWAL: Well, let's just talk a little bit about the fact that privilege was being cited here. Do you think that is genuine? Do you think that is a start? Or is it completely kind of confusing given the fact that they've now turned around and done it anyway?

COHEN: No, it's a very important principle that I think every administration wants to try to adhere to; namely, not having those who are not confirmed by the Senate, especially the national security adviser, who meets daily with the president of the United States and has very private, intimate conversations about policy, no president would like to have that individual go before Congress, or a commission created by Congress, and have to answer questions about what he or she said or saw during that time. Now, that's an important executive privilege they would like to maintain.

In this particular case, by virtue of the sheer outrage of the 9/11 event, killing 3,000 people in that terrible day, I think they had to recognize you can carve out exceptions. This is an exception; it will not be used as a precedent for all future commissions or members of Congress to try and drag key members of the administration who are not subject to Senate confirmation before the Congress. I think they can do both.

DHALIWAL: All right. The other big story that we've been following this week, of course, is new members coming into NATO. Do you think this makes it more likely now that the western military alliance will be willing to help out in Iraq?

COHEN: Well, I think the new members will be more inclined to try and show their support for the United States in this endeavor in Iraq. There was a momentum -- a sense of momentum building for other countries to join them. For example, the German foreign minister indicated in a public forum that even though Germany opposed the attack in Iraq, that if there was a consensus on the part of the NATO members, that Germany would not stand in the way.

That was a pretty good indication a consensus was building for some participation, in addition to being in Afghanistan moving into Iraq. Whether Spain and the most horrific incident that happened last week in Spain will undermine that dynamic remains to be seen. But I think the new members would want to be as supportive as they can be.

DHALIWAL: Well, one country that is watching this very closely, of course, is Russia. Do you think it has anything to worry about?

COHEN: Well, I think Russia certainly has to contend with acts of terrorism in its own country. The Chechen conflict has been waging on for -- raging on, I should say, for some time now. And Russia also has a concern with the spreading extremism within its own borders and beyond.

So I would assume that Russia has an interest in trying to join forces for the international community. And I would think that they would certainly want to be helpful, even though not a formal part of NATO, to be sure. But they have a NATO relationship which I think is very important.

DHALIWAL: All right. William Cohen, thanks very much for joining us.

COHEN: Pleasure, as always.

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