21 November 1997
TRANSCRIPT: SECRETARY OF STATE ON NBC-TV "TODAY SHOW" NOV. 21
("A small step in the right direction," SecState says) (1520)
Washington -- Secretary of State Albright, when asked November 21 if
the crisis with Iraq is now over, said, "Well, I think we've taken a
small step in the right direction, because Saddam Hussein has reversed
course.
"But," she added, "we're being very vigilant about making sure that
the inspectors can do their work and that Saddam Hussein understands
that the international community is bound and determined that he not
be able to threaten us with his weapons of mass destruction."
Albright said that "the point, I think, that people have to understand
is there's no way for him to get out from under the sanctions regime
if he does not allow the inspectors to do their job.
"They, in fact, are his ticket to clean health on the issue of weapons
of mass destruction," the Secretary of State said. "If they are not
able to do their job, they cannot certify or verify that he is living
up to the Security Council obligations."
Following is the State Department transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
November 21, 1997
INTERVIEW OF
SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT
ON NBC-TV "TODAY SHOW"
WITH MATT LAUER
LAUER: On Close-Up this morning, Iraq. While American inspectors
arrived back there this morning, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
arrived in Vancouver.
Madame Secretary, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
ALBRIGHT: Good morning, Matt.
LAUER: In simple terms, is the crisis over?
ALBRIGHT: Well, I think we've taken a small step in the right
direction, because Saddam Hussein has reversed course. But we're being
very vigilant about making sure that the inspectors can do their work
and that Saddam Hussein understands that the international community
is bound and determined that he not be able to threaten us with his
weapons of mass destruction.
LAUER: You have said all along that the U.S. made no concessions to
Saddam Hussein to get the inspectors, especially the Americans, back
in there. Doesn't it seem likely, though, Madame Secretary, that the
Russians must have promised Saddam Hussein something to get him to
back down?
ALBRIGHT: Well, we have seen all along -- and as you know, Matt, I was
Ambassador to the United Nations for four years -- that the Russians
have taken up the arguments for Iraq in the Security Council. And we
expect that they will do that more vigorously. We made -- when I met
with Foreign Minister Primakov in Geneva, I made very clear that the
United States agreed to nothing, that there were no deals. And he
knows exactly where we stand, and we know that he is going to argue on
behalf of lifting sanctions.
But we think that what's happened as a result of this crisis, Matt, is
that the international community and the permanent members of the
Security Council are more united than ever, making sure that Saddam
Hussein cannot threaten us with his weapons of mass destruction.
LAUER: So you think this is just business as usual for the Russians,
in terms of dealing with Iraq. Nothing untoward happened here. You
trust the Russians in this dealing.
ALBRIGHT: Well, I can't say that. What I can tell you, though, is that
we questioned Foreign Minister Primakov, and what happened here was
that the Russians -- as you know, President Clinton spoke with
President Yeltsin. Foreign Minister Primakov has had contacts with
Saddam Hussein in the past. He, in fact, delivered a message on behalf
of the international community that Saddam Hussein had to reverse
course.
LAUER: But let me just stay on this for a second. Are you saying you
don't trust the Russians in their dealings?
ALBRIGHT: No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that I made very clear
to the Russians that we were not a part of -- that we had not agreed
to anything beyond the fact that there was going to be a meeting today
of the Security Council Special Commission and that the inspectors
with the Americans had to go back. There are no deals.
The Russians have said to us that what they're going to do is take up
the case of the Iraqis in the Security Council. I am saying to you
that this, in many ways, is what they have been doing previously. They
may be doing it with more vigor, and that is all that I'm saying.
LAUER: This deal, it depends on full compliance with the U.N.
inspectors on the part of Saddam Hussein. But as you know, Madame
Secretary, in the past he has not fully complied. There have been
times where he has refused access of the inspectors to certain sites.
Where do we go if he refuses access in the future?
ALBRIGHT: Well, the point, I think, that people have to understand is
there's no way for him to get out from under the sanctions regime if
he does not allow the inspectors to do their job.
They, in fact, are his ticket to clean health on the issue of weapons
of mass destruction. If they are not able to do their job, they cannot
certify or verify that he is living up to the Security Council
obligations. So in many ways, it's counterproductive for Saddam
Hussein, as, in fact, I believe the last gambit has been, because
rather than splitting the permanent members of the Security Council --
LAUER: Right.
ALBRIGHT: -- we were all united. And what was so interesting, Matt,
was nobody even flinched about the fact that American inspectors had
to be part of the returning UNSCOM team.
LAUER: Well, that's an interesting point, because the Security Council
today will take up discussions based on the future make-up of these
inspection teams. Would you, Madame Secretary, be in agreement with a
larger team with the same current number of Americans on it? In other
words, a team that had a lower percentage of Americans on the team?
ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, I think we have to remember that the
UNSCOM team is made up of professionals, scientists, experts. And they
are chosen on the basis of their expertise, and Americans have
foremost expertise, as do other countries. So what we trust is the
chairman of the commission to select the team that has the most
expertise to do the job. And that is what we would want -- for there
to be independence of UNSCOM, of the chairman, to be able to get the
most experts he can. And we trust the fact that Americans have the
most expertise in this area.
LAUER: But would you accept a lower percentage of Americans on that
team?
ALBRIGHT: I think that we are trusting the chairman of UNSCOM to have
the experts, and I think that we're not in a position -- the Americans
must be a part of the team. They have to have a -- they are there as
experts. And I think that talking about the percentages at this moment
is not useful. What is important is that UNSCOM be composed of
experts; that Americans be a very important part of that; and that
whoever is on the team are experts.
I met with the UNSCOM people when I was in Bahrain recently.
LAUER: Right.
ALBRIGHT: And was very impressed by the expertise of those people I
met. The group I met, actually, had Australians and Canadians and
Germans on it, and some Americans. So I think that, clearly, Americans
must be a part of the team. The experts -- there must be experts on
this team, and Americans have great expertise.
LAUER: Some people, Madame Secretary, feel the Russians were actually
partly responsible for this current stand-off, or this latest
stand-off, because they abstained from the vote in the Security
Council to, I guess, denounce Iraq. How do you feel now that they are
coming out of this crisis being seen as the peace brokers in this
situation?
ALBRIGHT: I think that it was unfortunate that there was division in
the Council before. But what has happened, as I said earlier, is that
Saddam Hussein has, in fact, brought the permanent members into an
even stronger bond than we were before. This is, frankly, what happens
every time that he has one of these gambits.
Now, there is no doubt about the fact that Foreign Minister Primakov
has had a long standing relationship with Saddam Hussein. I think that
he served a very important purpose in persuading Saddam Hussein to
reverse course.
What is most important is that the permanent five members met in
Geneva to hear what Primakov had to say; to make clear that no deals
had been made on behalf of any of us, appreciating the work that he
had done, but that there were no deals that he could make on behalf of
any other sovereign nation.
LAUER: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. It's been a long trip;
get some sleep.
ALBRIGHT: Thanks a lot. Bye, Matt.
(end transcript)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
