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Cohen Weighs in on G-8 Summit
Aired June 09, 2004 - 12:32 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: Now on to a regular contributor to YOUR WORLD TODAY. The former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joins us now.
Secretary Cohen, good to see you.
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Good to see you.
VERJEE: The G-8 summit that's going on in Sea Island, Georgia, what can we expect from it that is of real substance?
COHEN: Well, I think it will follow on the heels of the U.N. Security Council resolution that passed 15 to zero, creating, I think, a mood that will allow President Bush to pursue other initiatives.
For example, he is trying to persuade other countries to support his Middle East initiative, which may run into some difficulty by virtue of the fact that several Arab countries have boycotted the meeting. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, refused to come because of a failure to really speed up the process or focus great intensity upon the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
But I think that will, obviously, be a major issue of discussion.
In addition, I believe he will be successful in gaining support for the security -- the Proliferation Security Initiative, basically getting more countries to support this effort to curb the transfer of technology that can be used by terrorists to destroy respective countries and civilizations.
And so that will be an important one.
And I think that, in addition, the United States will be called upon by the other members of the G-8 to contribute to the effort to relieve poverty, especially in African countries, sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus upon AIDS and also polio epidemics.
And so all of these issues, I think, are very much on the table. And I think by virtue of the U.N. Security Council resolution having passed, it creates a much more amiable sort of atmosphere.
VERJEE: One issue very much in the forefront, the U.S. president calling for a greater role for NATO in Iraq, a much more formal role. NATO, though, having said that we have our hands full with Afghanistan, how do you think that's going to play out, in reality, on the ground?
COHEN: I think in reality it may be some time before NATO countries can anything in the way of substantial military personnel.
But I think the -- the effort that's being made to say this is now and international, recognized commitment, by virtue of the U.N. Security Council resolution. The NATO countries could, in fact, use that as a rationale for greater involvement, as they did in Afghanistan.
I think there's very little expectation that there will be much in the way of contributions in terms of military personnel, but economic support, other reconstruction efforts very much on the minds of the coalition forces.
I think that will be helpful.
VERJEE: The U.N. resolution on Iraq being claimed as a great victory by the United States.
But there have been threats today from Kurdish leaders to pull ministers out of the interim government and ban Iraqi officials from visiting the north. This could be serious.
There are concerns that the resolution may have, in fact, sowed the seeds for future instability in Iraq, future instability, also, between the Kurds and the Shias in the country.
COHEN: It's almost the mirror image of what took place where the Iraqi people, as such, had agreed, al-Sistani in particular, Ayatollah Sistani in particular, when they agreed to go forward with the interim constitution.
He made it clear at that time that he thought that the provision providing for a -- the power of the Kurdish provinces, as such, to veto ratification of the constitution. And it's going to be undermining the effort.
But he said he would go along for the time being.
So I think what's happened is that the United States and coalition forces have recognized that there has to be some violence, preserving the autonomy, so to speak, of the Kurds but not giving them a veto power over the constitution ratification process.
VERJEE: The casket, the body of the former U.S. President Ronald Reagan is about to make its way for one last time to Washington, D.C. There have been preparations for ceremonies for a state funeral, as you know.
When you think of Ronald Reagan the way you perceived him, the way you knew him, what kind of a man was he to you? And what do you think was his greatest legacy?
COHEN: Well, he is much larger in history now. I think it's fair to say that one standing on the cliffs of history could see a lot further into the past than you can when you're walking through those valleys of contemporary politics.
So I think he emerges much larger than he was at the time by virtue of having big ideas: free minds, free markets, arms reductions as opposed to arms control, providing relief to small businesses and so forth. So he had big ideas, big commitments in terms of the politics of it all.
And I think the most remaining legacy that one will focus upon is the beginning of a meltdown of the -- of the Berlin Wall and the Cold War, so to speak I think that he will be seen as having precipitated that, notwithstanding all that went before him. His commitment with defense spending, Star Wars, deployment of Persian missiles to European soil. All of that played a very significant role in helping to melt that Cold War.
VERJEE: Former U.S. secretary of defense William Cohen, thanks.
END
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Aired June 9, 2004 - 12:32:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Now on to a regular contributor to YOUR WORLD TODAY. The former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joins us now.
Secretary Cohen, good to see you.
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Good to see you.
VERJEE: The G-8 summit that's going on in Sea Island, Georgia, what can we expect from it that is of real substance?
COHEN: Well, I think it will follow on the heels of the U.N. Security Council resolution that passed 15 to zero, creating, I think, a mood that will allow President Bush to pursue other initiatives.
For example, he is trying to persuade other countries to support his Middle East initiative, which may run into some difficulty by virtue of the fact that several Arab countries have boycotted the meeting. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, refused to come because of a failure to really speed up the process or focus great intensity upon the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
But I think that will, obviously, be a major issue of discussion.
In addition, I believe he will be successful in gaining support for the security -- the Proliferation Security Initiative, basically getting more countries to support this effort to curb the transfer of technology that can be used by terrorists to destroy respective countries and civilizations.
And so that will be an important one.
And I think that, in addition, the United States will be called upon by the other members of the G-8 to contribute to the effort to relieve poverty, especially in African countries, sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus upon AIDS and also polio epidemics.
And so all of these issues, I think, are very much on the table. And I think by virtue of the U.N. Security Council resolution having passed, it creates a much more amiable sort of atmosphere.
VERJEE: One issue very much in the forefront, the U.S. president calling for a greater role for NATO in Iraq, a much more formal role. NATO, though, having said that we have our hands full with Afghanistan, how do you think that's going to play out, in reality, on the ground?
COHEN: I think in reality it may be some time before NATO countries can anything in the way of substantial military personnel.
But I think the -- the effort that's being made to say this is now and international, recognized commitment, by virtue of the U.N. Security Council resolution. The NATO countries could, in fact, use that as a rationale for greater involvement, as they did in Afghanistan.
I think there's very little expectation that there will be much in the way of contributions in terms of military personnel, but economic support, other reconstruction efforts very much on the minds of the coalition forces.
I think that will be helpful.
VERJEE: The U.N. resolution on Iraq being claimed as a great victory by the United States.
But there have been threats today from Kurdish leaders to pull ministers out of the interim government and ban Iraqi officials from visiting the north. This could be serious.
There are concerns that the resolution may have, in fact, sowed the seeds for future instability in Iraq, future instability, also, between the Kurds and the Shias in the country.
COHEN: It's almost the mirror image of what took place where the Iraqi people, as such, had agreed, al-Sistani in particular, Ayatollah Sistani in particular, when they agreed to go forward with the interim constitution.
He made it clear at that time that he thought that the provision providing for a -- the power of the Kurdish provinces, as such, to veto ratification of the constitution. And it's going to be undermining the effort.
But he said he would go along for the time being.
So I think what's happened is that the United States and coalition forces have recognized that there has to be some violence, preserving the autonomy, so to speak, of the Kurds but not giving them a veto power over the constitution ratification process.
VERJEE: The casket, the body of the former U.S. President Ronald Reagan is about to make its way for one last time to Washington, D.C. There have been preparations for ceremonies for a state funeral, as you know.
When you think of Ronald Reagan the way you perceived him, the way you knew him, what kind of a man was he to you? And what do you think was his greatest legacy?
COHEN: Well, he is much larger in history now. I think it's fair to say that one standing on the cliffs of history could see a lot further into the past than you can when you're walking through those valleys of contemporary politics.
So I think he emerges much larger than he was at the time by virtue of having big ideas: free minds, free markets, arms reductions as opposed to arms control, providing relief to small businesses and so forth. So he had big ideas, big commitments in terms of the politics of it all.
And I think the most remaining legacy that one will focus upon is the beginning of a meltdown of the -- of the Berlin Wall and the Cold War, so to speak I think that he will be seen as having precipitated that, notwithstanding all that went before him. His commitment with defense spending, Star Wars, deployment of Persian missiles to European soil. All of that played a very significant role in helping to melt that Cold War.
VERJEE: Former U.S. secretary of defense William Cohen, thanks.
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
