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William Cohen Weighs in on Iraq, U.S. Presidential Elections

Aired September 28, 2004 - 12:25   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: Time once again to check in with one of our regular contributors. The former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, joins us now.
Secretary Cohen, good to see you.

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You, too.

VERJEE: King Abdullah's comments today, saying really it's not possible to hold fair elections in Iraq in January. The extremists, he said, are going to gain.

Do you think the elections should be held in January or at least be postponed for awhile?

COHEN: I think it will depend much upon what the security situation is. If large areas that -- continue to be unsafe that cannot have free and fair and open elections, then -- then they may very well consider postponing them.

But right now, the plan is to set the date and stick to it. And then, following our own elections, in the United States, to see an increase in the size of the force that will then focus on those areas that remain so- called no-go zones. That they'll be open zones anywhere.

That's the goal, and I think that has to remain the goal, but much will depend upon the security situation at the time that the elections are scheduled for?

VERJEE: And to address, King Abdullah also said, "Look, one of the solutions is you've got to recruit mid-ranking officers of the old Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein into the new Iraqi army.

Do you think that's a good idea?

COHEN: I think we're going to have more Iraqi faces dealing with the insurgents. The notion that it will be U.S. forces trying to impose that kind of security, however the numbers are on our side, as such, it will not be successful. We need more Iraqis involved in helping to security their own futures.

So I think that may be what King Abdullah said. He said that he is on the front line in understanding with the nature of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is that we all have to contend with.

VERJEE: An al Qaeda operative, an alleged al Qaeda operative was killed in Pakistan, Amjad Farooqi. Do you think that the more operatives that are killed or captures means that the U.S.-led war on terror is being won?

COHEN: I don't think we can get into a numbers count, a body count or looking at specific individuals. This is much bigger than any one individual. There are a number of individuals. It's something more of a movement of the insurgents.

And I think that we would be engaging in self-delusion to think that only a certain number of killed, that will turn the tide.

This is something that is long term, and ultimately the Iraqi people have to be on the side of wanting a better future for themselves and seeing it in the form of an open, more open, at least, democratic form of government.

VERJEE: The first debate between President Bush and John Kerry is going to take place on Thursday. The issue: national security. Do you think that this debate is going to make a difference?

COHEN: It will for -- John Kerry certainly has the opportunity to make a difference. He's running behind President Bush in the polls by some significant numbers. And the issue of terrorism is on the front burner, as well as foreign policy, perhaps for the second time in recent history.

Back in the '60s during the Nixon-Kennedy debates, foreign policy was the main issue. During 1968, Vietnam was very much the center of the debate with Lyndon Johnson at that time having to step down.

And so this is the first time since '68 that foreign policy is front and center. So Senator Kerry is going to have to lay out a very clear, concise position that will persuade the American people, or charge at least, that the president is on the wrong track and he would be on the right track.

That's going to be the opportunity he's given, and certainly, the first debate and the two to follow would be less on foreign policy than on domestic policy.

VERJEE: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, speaking to us from Washington. Thanks a lot.

COHEN: Thank 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 September 28, 2004 - 12:25:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Time once again to check in with one of our regular contributors. The former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, joins us now.
Secretary Cohen, good to see you.

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You, too.

VERJEE: King Abdullah's comments today, saying really it's not possible to hold fair elections in Iraq in January. The extremists, he said, are going to gain.

Do you think the elections should be held in January or at least be postponed for awhile?

COHEN: I think it will depend much upon what the security situation is. If large areas that -- continue to be unsafe that cannot have free and fair and open elections, then -- then they may very well consider postponing them.

But right now, the plan is to set the date and stick to it. And then, following our own elections, in the United States, to see an increase in the size of the force that will then focus on those areas that remain so- called no-go zones. That they'll be open zones anywhere.

That's the goal, and I think that has to remain the goal, but much will depend upon the security situation at the time that the elections are scheduled for?

VERJEE: And to address, King Abdullah also said, "Look, one of the solutions is you've got to recruit mid-ranking officers of the old Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein into the new Iraqi army.

Do you think that's a good idea?

COHEN: I think we're going to have more Iraqi faces dealing with the insurgents. The notion that it will be U.S. forces trying to impose that kind of security, however the numbers are on our side, as such, it will not be successful. We need more Iraqis involved in helping to security their own futures.

So I think that may be what King Abdullah said. He said that he is on the front line in understanding with the nature of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is that we all have to contend with.

VERJEE: An al Qaeda operative, an alleged al Qaeda operative was killed in Pakistan, Amjad Farooqi. Do you think that the more operatives that are killed or captures means that the U.S.-led war on terror is being won?

COHEN: I don't think we can get into a numbers count, a body count or looking at specific individuals. This is much bigger than any one individual. There are a number of individuals. It's something more of a movement of the insurgents.

And I think that we would be engaging in self-delusion to think that only a certain number of killed, that will turn the tide.

This is something that is long term, and ultimately the Iraqi people have to be on the side of wanting a better future for themselves and seeing it in the form of an open, more open, at least, democratic form of government.

VERJEE: The first debate between President Bush and John Kerry is going to take place on Thursday. The issue: national security. Do you think that this debate is going to make a difference?

COHEN: It will for -- John Kerry certainly has the opportunity to make a difference. He's running behind President Bush in the polls by some significant numbers. And the issue of terrorism is on the front burner, as well as foreign policy, perhaps for the second time in recent history.

Back in the '60s during the Nixon-Kennedy debates, foreign policy was the main issue. During 1968, Vietnam was very much the center of the debate with Lyndon Johnson at that time having to step down.

And so this is the first time since '68 that foreign policy is front and center. So Senator Kerry is going to have to lay out a very clear, concise position that will persuade the American people, or charge at least, that the president is on the wrong track and he would be on the right track.

That's going to be the opportunity he's given, and certainly, the first debate and the two to follow would be less on foreign policy than on domestic policy.

VERJEE: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, speaking to us from Washington. Thanks a lot.

COHEN: Thank 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