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William Cohen on Kerry's Choice of Edwards as Running Mate

Aired July 06, 2004 - 12:35   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: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's selection of a running mate as well as stories in Iraq and Israel dominate our coverage today. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joins us now with his perspectives on all of those topics.
Secretary Cohen, first of all, do you think that Israel should start talking about ridding the region of nuclear weapons? Should it disclose its own status?

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I think it's unlikely. I think Mr. Baradei's trip is going to be largely symbolic and not terribly substantive because Israel is not going to disclose what it possesses or is developing. So I think that's a foregone conclusion.

VERJEE: Do you think Israel, though, should abandon its policy of ambiguity?

COHEN: I think that the Israeli's will have to maintain that policy of ambiguity. My own assumption is that they have nuclear weapons. I think most make that assumption. But it is an assumption and not a fact that has been established and I think the Israelis intend to keep it precisely that way because they are at a numerical disadvantage and to such an extent that the numbers are adverse toward them they are going to maintain that. So I think its really wishful thinking that they are going to make that disclosure or give up that ambiguity in the near-term.

VERJEE: The big story, perhaps the only story today in the United States, Kerry picking Senator John Edwards to be his running mate. Do you think Edwards has what it takes to help Kerry win?

COHEN: Well, he certainly has some of the ingredients that the Kerry campaign seems to feel that it needs, namely youth, vitality, vigor and appeal to the rural populations in the country, those who are suffering from economic disadvantage right now and I think that his selection does represent an effort to try and appeal to them with a kind of rural populism that will swing some of those voters into the Democratic camp. It is rather interesting, I think, it's almost a mirror-image of what took place back in 2000 where you had President Bush, who had very little experience in foreign affairs and not very much in the way of travel picked Dick Cheney, who was in fact regarded as being very a very substantive individual of vast experience. You have the mirror opposite right now where you have John Kerry, who has vast experience picking a younger man who is certainly light on that side of the experience. So it'll be a mirror image and the American people will have to decide whether or not he has the right stuff and whether it's a good ticket.

VERJEE: How well do you know John Edwards? What can you tell us about him that we might not know?

COHEN: Well, I was not in the Senate at the time that he served. I did encounter him on a number of occasions while I was serving as secretary of defense. He is very, very bright, a very quick study from what I have seen of him and someone who has a power of persuasion and so I think he's going to be a formidable candidate on the campaign trail and I think that the Republicans certainly are going to try to diminish his impact by referring to him as a trial lawyer, but I think that he will try to turn that against them by saying, yes, but I represent the people against the big corporations who have been really ripping you off all of these years. And so it's going to be an interesting battle. Unfortunately, it's going to be a rough and tumble type of battle and so we have to gear up for that as well as those who are going to be watching it.

VERJEE: Were you in talks at all with Kerry about being his vice president and running on that ticket? A Republican on the ticket would have been great.

COHEN: I was not in touch with him for that subject matter, even though it was speculated-the New England dream-team so to speak was never going to be a reality that he was-I think absent having John McCain as someone who would appeal to independents I think that he made the right to choice to go with a strong Democrat who could unify the party, so to speak, but also try to appeal to the great middle out there that is reserving judgment right now in terms of how they are going to vote.

VERJEE: And on Iraq, the plan for giving limited amnesty to insurgents, do you think it's a good idea?

COHEN: I think if it's limited it perhaps is a good idea because I think that the interim government has to try to separate out the insurgents from the so-called jihadists. That if they combine together to try to force the defeat of the interim government then everyone loses. So I think they are trying to appeal to the insurgents. If that grant of amnesty is too wide or too broad then I think it risks several things. Number one, you invite the enemy into your own camp, you can invite your own destruction. And number two, if it's too broad and deep I think it'll have political ramifications back in the United States where people will raise the question of, we fought a battle to see what, all of those we fought against simply coming back into power. I think that there's a risk there if the amnesty is too broad.

VERJEE: OK. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joining us from Washington. As always, it's good to see you.

COHEN: Thank you, Zain.

VERJEE: See you next week.

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 July 6, 2004 - 12:35:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's selection of a running mate as well as stories in Iraq and Israel dominate our coverage today. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joins us now with his perspectives on all of those topics.
Secretary Cohen, first of all, do you think that Israel should start talking about ridding the region of nuclear weapons? Should it disclose its own status?

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I think it's unlikely. I think Mr. Baradei's trip is going to be largely symbolic and not terribly substantive because Israel is not going to disclose what it possesses or is developing. So I think that's a foregone conclusion.

VERJEE: Do you think Israel, though, should abandon its policy of ambiguity?

COHEN: I think that the Israeli's will have to maintain that policy of ambiguity. My own assumption is that they have nuclear weapons. I think most make that assumption. But it is an assumption and not a fact that has been established and I think the Israelis intend to keep it precisely that way because they are at a numerical disadvantage and to such an extent that the numbers are adverse toward them they are going to maintain that. So I think its really wishful thinking that they are going to make that disclosure or give up that ambiguity in the near-term.

VERJEE: The big story, perhaps the only story today in the United States, Kerry picking Senator John Edwards to be his running mate. Do you think Edwards has what it takes to help Kerry win?

COHEN: Well, he certainly has some of the ingredients that the Kerry campaign seems to feel that it needs, namely youth, vitality, vigor and appeal to the rural populations in the country, those who are suffering from economic disadvantage right now and I think that his selection does represent an effort to try and appeal to them with a kind of rural populism that will swing some of those voters into the Democratic camp. It is rather interesting, I think, it's almost a mirror-image of what took place back in 2000 where you had President Bush, who had very little experience in foreign affairs and not very much in the way of travel picked Dick Cheney, who was in fact regarded as being very a very substantive individual of vast experience. You have the mirror opposite right now where you have John Kerry, who has vast experience picking a younger man who is certainly light on that side of the experience. So it'll be a mirror image and the American people will have to decide whether or not he has the right stuff and whether it's a good ticket.

VERJEE: How well do you know John Edwards? What can you tell us about him that we might not know?

COHEN: Well, I was not in the Senate at the time that he served. I did encounter him on a number of occasions while I was serving as secretary of defense. He is very, very bright, a very quick study from what I have seen of him and someone who has a power of persuasion and so I think he's going to be a formidable candidate on the campaign trail and I think that the Republicans certainly are going to try to diminish his impact by referring to him as a trial lawyer, but I think that he will try to turn that against them by saying, yes, but I represent the people against the big corporations who have been really ripping you off all of these years. And so it's going to be an interesting battle. Unfortunately, it's going to be a rough and tumble type of battle and so we have to gear up for that as well as those who are going to be watching it.

VERJEE: Were you in talks at all with Kerry about being his vice president and running on that ticket? A Republican on the ticket would have been great.

COHEN: I was not in touch with him for that subject matter, even though it was speculated-the New England dream-team so to speak was never going to be a reality that he was-I think absent having John McCain as someone who would appeal to independents I think that he made the right to choice to go with a strong Democrat who could unify the party, so to speak, but also try to appeal to the great middle out there that is reserving judgment right now in terms of how they are going to vote.

VERJEE: And on Iraq, the plan for giving limited amnesty to insurgents, do you think it's a good idea?

COHEN: I think if it's limited it perhaps is a good idea because I think that the interim government has to try to separate out the insurgents from the so-called jihadists. That if they combine together to try to force the defeat of the interim government then everyone loses. So I think they are trying to appeal to the insurgents. If that grant of amnesty is too wide or too broad then I think it risks several things. Number one, you invite the enemy into your own camp, you can invite your own destruction. And number two, if it's too broad and deep I think it'll have political ramifications back in the United States where people will raise the question of, we fought a battle to see what, all of those we fought against simply coming back into power. I think that there's a risk there if the amnesty is too broad.

VERJEE: OK. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen joining us from Washington. As always, it's good to see you.

COHEN: Thank you, Zain.

VERJEE: See you next week.

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