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Cohen: Security Key in Iraq, U.S. Must Stand Firm in North Korea

Aired September 14, 2004 - 12:31   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.


RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people is becoming increasingly difficult for the U.S.- led force in Iraq. With civilian casualties mounting and insurgent attacks on the rise, what should the Pentagon do to better secure the country?
Joining us now to talk about this and other stories in the news is former U.S. secretary of defense, William Cohen. He now heads the Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm.

Secretary Cohen, thank you very much for joining us.

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Good afternoon.

VASSILEVA: First to Iraq. What is Pentagon to do? We know that it is trying to take back Sunni strongholds like Fallujah. Is this strategy working?

COHEN: Well, one thing that is being done now is Ambassador Negroponte is requesting a reallocation of several billions of dollars, some $3 billion out of the $18 billion that has been set aside for reconstruction in Iraq. He's requesting $3 billion now be devoted to security measures.

The goal of the insurgents is quite clear from the piece that you just ran. And that is to try and destroy political institutions, security institutions and prevent the Iraqi people from enjoying power, electricity, sewer, water and so forth. So infrastructure, security and political institutions are all the major targets.

Ambassador Negroponte wants to allocate $3 billion now into the security for the people of Iraq.

VASSILEVA: But is this -- Is this possibly an admission that the strategy is not working?

COHEN: I think it's -- what's happening, we have a catch-22. To the extent that we are trying to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, the coalition forces, then they need to provide the basic services to persuade the Iraqi people that their long-term goals are certainly within sight.

To the extent that there is insecurity and that there are these kinds of explosions taking place, killing innocent Iraqi people, then the coalition forces will not be able to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

So it's a very difficult situation now, but security has to come before even the infrastructure of projects that have been planned and are not yet underway. It's a very difficult challenge for all of the forces there now.

VASSILEVA: I want to turn our attention to a very troublesome mushroom cloud over the northern parts of North Korea, which was observed in the last week or so.

It appears now from what the United States is saying, from what North Korea itself is saying, what Britain is saying, that this was some kind of either demolition event. It was not a nuclear experiment.

However, there are indications that the Bush administration has received that North Korea is getting ready for a nuclear weapons test. What do you think the impact of such a test would be?

COHEN: I think it would have very negative consequences, certainly for the North Koreans themselves but for those in the surrounding area. China would have, I believe, a major problem, as would South Korea and Japan. And this is one of the two issues that they have to contend with.

If North Korea becomes a nuclear power, as such, by producing nuclear materials, the danger of proliferation is quite great, because they are known as the world's perhaps most prolific distributors of materials, harmful materials.

Secondly, it could set in motion a race for nuclear weapons acquisition between the South Koreans, who have already indicated they've been doing some experimentation with trying to enrich uranium, and also with Japan.

And so everyone in the region has a serious interest in seeing this not take place. But I think that the intelligence that they received to date would indicate that North Korea, nonetheless, is making covert plans to conduct some sort of presumably underground tests in the not too distant future.

A bad move on their part but with serious consequences for it as well.

VASSILEVA: And given the concerns, do you think that any talks or any action will be taken before the U.S. election in November?

COHEN: Well, there has been speculation that Kim Jong-Il might try to conduct a test prior to the elections in November in order to influence the American electorate. That would be a big mistake, a miscalculation on his part.

It's also very important that Senator Kerry, as a presidential candidate, send a signal to the North that they should not try to really interfere with American politics, nor should they expect any different treatment from a Kerry administration as opposed to a Bush administration.

There can be only one policy, and that is that the North must give up its nuclear ambitions in return for serious substantive economic packages that will be delivered to the North. That is the policy enunciated by President Bush. It's one I believe that should be followed by President Kerry, should he be elected.

VASSILEVA: Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, thank you very much.

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 September 14, 2004 - 12:31:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people is becoming increasingly difficult for the U.S.- led force in Iraq. With civilian casualties mounting and insurgent attacks on the rise, what should the Pentagon do to better secure the country?
Joining us now to talk about this and other stories in the news is former U.S. secretary of defense, William Cohen. He now heads the Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm.

Secretary Cohen, thank you very much for joining us.

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Good afternoon.

VASSILEVA: First to Iraq. What is Pentagon to do? We know that it is trying to take back Sunni strongholds like Fallujah. Is this strategy working?

COHEN: Well, one thing that is being done now is Ambassador Negroponte is requesting a reallocation of several billions of dollars, some $3 billion out of the $18 billion that has been set aside for reconstruction in Iraq. He's requesting $3 billion now be devoted to security measures.

The goal of the insurgents is quite clear from the piece that you just ran. And that is to try and destroy political institutions, security institutions and prevent the Iraqi people from enjoying power, electricity, sewer, water and so forth. So infrastructure, security and political institutions are all the major targets.

Ambassador Negroponte wants to allocate $3 billion now into the security for the people of Iraq.

VASSILEVA: But is this -- Is this possibly an admission that the strategy is not working?

COHEN: I think it's -- what's happening, we have a catch-22. To the extent that we are trying to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, the coalition forces, then they need to provide the basic services to persuade the Iraqi people that their long-term goals are certainly within sight.

To the extent that there is insecurity and that there are these kinds of explosions taking place, killing innocent Iraqi people, then the coalition forces will not be able to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

So it's a very difficult situation now, but security has to come before even the infrastructure of projects that have been planned and are not yet underway. It's a very difficult challenge for all of the forces there now.

VASSILEVA: I want to turn our attention to a very troublesome mushroom cloud over the northern parts of North Korea, which was observed in the last week or so.

It appears now from what the United States is saying, from what North Korea itself is saying, what Britain is saying, that this was some kind of either demolition event. It was not a nuclear experiment.

However, there are indications that the Bush administration has received that North Korea is getting ready for a nuclear weapons test. What do you think the impact of such a test would be?

COHEN: I think it would have very negative consequences, certainly for the North Koreans themselves but for those in the surrounding area. China would have, I believe, a major problem, as would South Korea and Japan. And this is one of the two issues that they have to contend with.

If North Korea becomes a nuclear power, as such, by producing nuclear materials, the danger of proliferation is quite great, because they are known as the world's perhaps most prolific distributors of materials, harmful materials.

Secondly, it could set in motion a race for nuclear weapons acquisition between the South Koreans, who have already indicated they've been doing some experimentation with trying to enrich uranium, and also with Japan.

And so everyone in the region has a serious interest in seeing this not take place. But I think that the intelligence that they received to date would indicate that North Korea, nonetheless, is making covert plans to conduct some sort of presumably underground tests in the not too distant future.

A bad move on their part but with serious consequences for it as well.

VASSILEVA: And given the concerns, do you think that any talks or any action will be taken before the U.S. election in November?

COHEN: Well, there has been speculation that Kim Jong-Il might try to conduct a test prior to the elections in November in order to influence the American electorate. That would be a big mistake, a miscalculation on his part.

It's also very important that Senator Kerry, as a presidential candidate, send a signal to the North that they should not try to really interfere with American politics, nor should they expect any different treatment from a Kerry administration as opposed to a Bush administration.

There can be only one policy, and that is that the North must give up its nuclear ambitions in return for serious substantive economic packages that will be delivered to the North. That is the policy enunciated by President Bush. It's one I believe that should be followed by President Kerry, should he be elected.

VASSILEVA: Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, thank you very much.

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