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William Cohen Weighs in on Battle for Falluja, Rice's New Job
Aired November 16, 2004 - 12:23 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: We're going to take some time to take a look at some of our top stories and get some perspective on recent developments, both in Iraq and in the U.S.
Let's go now to former U.S. secretary of defense, William Cohen. He joins us now from New York.
Thanks for being with us, Secretary Cohen. Your assessment of the operation in Falluja?
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, it appears to have been, quote, "successful" in the sense that they have driven the insurgents out for the time being.
The real issue is what takes place now. Can they secure Falluja so that there's not a -- a leaking back in of the insurgents and that they then start some back door operations against the coalition forces.
So I think right now we have to say it's been successful to date. Much remains to be done and we're seeing the spread of that insurgent movement into Mosul, Ramadi and other areas. So it's a very difficult battle ahead. This is just one step in a long process.
VERJEE: Does the insurgent strategy, to you, seem cohesive, coherent in any way? You know, U.S. and Iraqi presses down on Falluja and Mosul, Ramadi, Baqubah flare up?
COHEN: I think that's part of the insurgent strategy. They mainly want to strike in as many areas as they possibly can to cause as much confusion and chaos, go after the economic targets, blowing up pipelines, assassinate police officials, kidnap their families and so forth.
Again, to -- to touch as many areas as they can to try to keep the coalition forces as occupied as possible and not allow them to focus on one area and decimate that area and say that the -- the battle is over.
So it's a strategy, and a certain strategy which they intend to pursue.
VERJEE: As the battle rages now, also, in Mosul, how important do you think it is to approach Mosul in a way that takes into consideration the ethnic and religious complexities of the city.
There's a danger with the Turks, the Kurds, the Sunni Arabs, their animosities, their decades long antagonisms will only be exacerbated by a greater U.S. military presence in the city and will only lead to more sectarian violence.
What do you make of that, and how important is it to understand that?
COHEN: I think it's very important that the coalition forces listen to Prime Minister Allawi to others and not to simply approach it on a purely military basis, but rather to try to take into account, to the extent they can, the historical relationship, the ethnic composure and composition, I should say of the people in the region.
So a lot will depend upon getting good intelligence, good information and some good guidance from the local inhabitants and the local leadership. But pursuing it simply on a military basis could prove quite counterproductive.
VERJEE: Secretary Cohen, the videotape today that we're seeing, alleging a point blank shooting of an apparently wounded Iraqi insurgent, how damaging is a tape like that?
COHEN: Well, it potentially could be quite damaging, as has been reported by CNN. For this film to be shown to other throughout the country, it could be very damaging in terms of trying to persuade people to surrender, that the coalition forces are not interested in taking individuals captive and holding them as prisoners of war but rather to killing them.
So it's a very serious implication, if that turns out to be the case that the individual was killed in cold blood.
I can only speak from my personal experience when I was at the Department of Defense. U.S. forces took every precaution to try to minimize killing innocent people, not to mention engaging in any acts of the -- classified as war crimes.
In this particular case, if that individual did not pose a threat to the coalition forces moving in, then there's certainly going to require some sort of disciplinary action, and -- and the court-martial possibility.
VERJEE: OK. Condi...
COHEN: You have to wait for the outcome of the investigation.
VERJEE: OK.
COHEN: But it's a serious charge.
VERJEE: OK. Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, a good pick?
COHEN: She's an excellent pick. She's very close to President Bush. She has no learning curve to, certainly, attend to. She has been part of the national security team. She is very well plugged into the decision making process in the White House, working with the vice president, the president and the secretary of defense.
And so I think that she comes with considerable credentials and obviously, her proximity to the president will make a very important difference in terms of how she's going to approach her position.
VERJEE: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, thanks a lot.
COHEN: Thanks.
END
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Aired November 16, 2004 - 12:23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We're going to take some time to take a look at some of our top stories and get some perspective on recent developments, both in Iraq and in the U.S.
Let's go now to former U.S. secretary of defense, William Cohen. He joins us now from New York.
Thanks for being with us, Secretary Cohen. Your assessment of the operation in Falluja?
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, it appears to have been, quote, "successful" in the sense that they have driven the insurgents out for the time being.
The real issue is what takes place now. Can they secure Falluja so that there's not a -- a leaking back in of the insurgents and that they then start some back door operations against the coalition forces.
So I think right now we have to say it's been successful to date. Much remains to be done and we're seeing the spread of that insurgent movement into Mosul, Ramadi and other areas. So it's a very difficult battle ahead. This is just one step in a long process.
VERJEE: Does the insurgent strategy, to you, seem cohesive, coherent in any way? You know, U.S. and Iraqi presses down on Falluja and Mosul, Ramadi, Baqubah flare up?
COHEN: I think that's part of the insurgent strategy. They mainly want to strike in as many areas as they possibly can to cause as much confusion and chaos, go after the economic targets, blowing up pipelines, assassinate police officials, kidnap their families and so forth.
Again, to -- to touch as many areas as they can to try to keep the coalition forces as occupied as possible and not allow them to focus on one area and decimate that area and say that the -- the battle is over.
So it's a strategy, and a certain strategy which they intend to pursue.
VERJEE: As the battle rages now, also, in Mosul, how important do you think it is to approach Mosul in a way that takes into consideration the ethnic and religious complexities of the city.
There's a danger with the Turks, the Kurds, the Sunni Arabs, their animosities, their decades long antagonisms will only be exacerbated by a greater U.S. military presence in the city and will only lead to more sectarian violence.
What do you make of that, and how important is it to understand that?
COHEN: I think it's very important that the coalition forces listen to Prime Minister Allawi to others and not to simply approach it on a purely military basis, but rather to try to take into account, to the extent they can, the historical relationship, the ethnic composure and composition, I should say of the people in the region.
So a lot will depend upon getting good intelligence, good information and some good guidance from the local inhabitants and the local leadership. But pursuing it simply on a military basis could prove quite counterproductive.
VERJEE: Secretary Cohen, the videotape today that we're seeing, alleging a point blank shooting of an apparently wounded Iraqi insurgent, how damaging is a tape like that?
COHEN: Well, it potentially could be quite damaging, as has been reported by CNN. For this film to be shown to other throughout the country, it could be very damaging in terms of trying to persuade people to surrender, that the coalition forces are not interested in taking individuals captive and holding them as prisoners of war but rather to killing them.
So it's a very serious implication, if that turns out to be the case that the individual was killed in cold blood.
I can only speak from my personal experience when I was at the Department of Defense. U.S. forces took every precaution to try to minimize killing innocent people, not to mention engaging in any acts of the -- classified as war crimes.
In this particular case, if that individual did not pose a threat to the coalition forces moving in, then there's certainly going to require some sort of disciplinary action, and -- and the court-martial possibility.
VERJEE: OK. Condi...
COHEN: You have to wait for the outcome of the investigation.
VERJEE: OK.
COHEN: But it's a serious charge.
VERJEE: OK. Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, a good pick?
COHEN: She's an excellent pick. She's very close to President Bush. She has no learning curve to, certainly, attend to. She has been part of the national security team. She is very well plugged into the decision making process in the White House, working with the vice president, the president and the secretary of defense.
And so I think that she comes with considerable credentials and obviously, her proximity to the president will make a very important difference in terms of how she's going to approach her position.
VERJEE: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen, thanks a lot.
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
