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Your World Today
Cohen Weighs in on Iraqi Elections, Pinochet Arrest, Yushchenko's Poisoning
Aired December 14, 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: Now to our regular contributor here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, joins us from Washington.
Good to see you, Secretary Cohen.
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Thank you, Zain.
VERJEE: Iraq's foreign minister today reiterating an idea we've heard before where Iraqi national elections, he says, could be held in stages, maybe over a period of two to three weeks to minimize security threats, he said.
Do you think that's a good idea?
COHEN: Well, one of the problems with this particular proposal is it could be seen as being subject to manipulation. The best possible outcome would be to have national elections held on one day or two days and to have a secure environment to hold those elections.
But it's clear that more troops are going to be needed, even though the United States is increasing its contribution by some 12,000, it's questionable whether or not that's going to be enough in order to have security in a country the size of California.
And so it may be necessary to have what would otherwise be described as rolling types of elections.
But I think it's going to open it up to questions about whether the entire process is being manipulated by those who see themselves as either losing, needing to call upon others to try and cause violence in other areas, which try to manipulate the outcome of the election at a later time.
I think, overall, it would be better to have it in a one- or two-day period, if at all possible.
VERJEE: Trials for former Iraqi regime members could start as early as next week. Do you think there's a danger that trials like that could energize the insurgents?
COHEN: That certainly is one possibility, and that should be taken into account by the Iraqi officials. On the one hand, it could send a signal, also, that the former regime is going to be held accountable, that the rule of law is going to be followed, that these are going to be trials established by the Iraqi people, the existing government, as such, that there are going to be prosecutors who have been trained.
So the rule of law will replace the law of rule that was pursued by Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, as such.
So it could send a signal that is positive in nature, but it does run the risk that it may energize the supporters of Saddam to take even more violent action against coalition forces.
VERJEE: A Chilean court has ruled that Augusto Pinochet is fit to stand trial for human rights abuses. Do you think he should stand trial?
COHEN: I think that any time abuses are committed under military or dictatorial rule, they must -- the leaders must be held accountable. There is no statute of limitations that can expire so that those leaders are not held accountable.
This is an exercise in democracy. The Chilean people have a right to find out who was responsible for what crimes and to hold those officials accountable in a court of law. So hopefully, the process will go forward.
It's largely symbolic in the sense that Pinochet is quite elderly, quite infirm. But nonetheless, it's a very important step in the process of democraticization.
VERJEE: Ukraine, there is now medical confirmation that the opposition presidential candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, was poisoned by dioxin. Do you think that that could be a factor at all in the impending rerun of the election and it could influence the outcome in any way?
COHEN: I think it will certainly have an impact upon the -- the population of Ukraine. This is a throwback. The assassination or the attempted assassination of political leaders is something that was certainly prevalent during the Cold War.
And it's interesting that Pinochet is now being held accountable for accusations or allegations about murder and other types of atrocities during his reign, and we're seeing at least the last example of a similar type of tactic, namely the poisoning and the attacking of a political opponent taking place this year, this past year.
So it's the closure of a period of time in world history that needs to come to an end. And I think that the people of Ukraine will certainly take that into account as they go to the polls in the future.
VERJEE: Former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, with his perspective today. Our regular weekly segment. Thank you so much. Good to see you.
COHEN: Pleased to be with you, Zain.
END
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Aired December 14, 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: Now to our regular contributor here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. Former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, joins us from Washington.
Good to see you, Secretary Cohen.
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Thank you, Zain.
VERJEE: Iraq's foreign minister today reiterating an idea we've heard before where Iraqi national elections, he says, could be held in stages, maybe over a period of two to three weeks to minimize security threats, he said.
Do you think that's a good idea?
COHEN: Well, one of the problems with this particular proposal is it could be seen as being subject to manipulation. The best possible outcome would be to have national elections held on one day or two days and to have a secure environment to hold those elections.
But it's clear that more troops are going to be needed, even though the United States is increasing its contribution by some 12,000, it's questionable whether or not that's going to be enough in order to have security in a country the size of California.
And so it may be necessary to have what would otherwise be described as rolling types of elections.
But I think it's going to open it up to questions about whether the entire process is being manipulated by those who see themselves as either losing, needing to call upon others to try and cause violence in other areas, which try to manipulate the outcome of the election at a later time.
I think, overall, it would be better to have it in a one- or two-day period, if at all possible.
VERJEE: Trials for former Iraqi regime members could start as early as next week. Do you think there's a danger that trials like that could energize the insurgents?
COHEN: That certainly is one possibility, and that should be taken into account by the Iraqi officials. On the one hand, it could send a signal, also, that the former regime is going to be held accountable, that the rule of law is going to be followed, that these are going to be trials established by the Iraqi people, the existing government, as such, that there are going to be prosecutors who have been trained.
So the rule of law will replace the law of rule that was pursued by Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, as such.
So it could send a signal that is positive in nature, but it does run the risk that it may energize the supporters of Saddam to take even more violent action against coalition forces.
VERJEE: A Chilean court has ruled that Augusto Pinochet is fit to stand trial for human rights abuses. Do you think he should stand trial?
COHEN: I think that any time abuses are committed under military or dictatorial rule, they must -- the leaders must be held accountable. There is no statute of limitations that can expire so that those leaders are not held accountable.
This is an exercise in democracy. The Chilean people have a right to find out who was responsible for what crimes and to hold those officials accountable in a court of law. So hopefully, the process will go forward.
It's largely symbolic in the sense that Pinochet is quite elderly, quite infirm. But nonetheless, it's a very important step in the process of democraticization.
VERJEE: Ukraine, there is now medical confirmation that the opposition presidential candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, was poisoned by dioxin. Do you think that that could be a factor at all in the impending rerun of the election and it could influence the outcome in any way?
COHEN: I think it will certainly have an impact upon the -- the population of Ukraine. This is a throwback. The assassination or the attempted assassination of political leaders is something that was certainly prevalent during the Cold War.
And it's interesting that Pinochet is now being held accountable for accusations or allegations about murder and other types of atrocities during his reign, and we're seeing at least the last example of a similar type of tactic, namely the poisoning and the attacking of a political opponent taking place this year, this past year.
So it's the closure of a period of time in world history that needs to come to an end. And I think that the people of Ukraine will certainly take that into account as they go to the polls in the future.
VERJEE: Former U.S. defense secretary, William Cohen, with his perspective today. Our regular weekly segment. Thank you so much. Good to see you.
COHEN: Pleased to be with you, Zain.
END
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