Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=12/16/03

TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

NAME=POST SADDAM COOPERATION

NUMBER=6-130188

BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Assignments

TELEPHONE=619-3335

CONTENT=

INTRO: One of the themes emerging in the U-S press in the wake of Saddam Hussein's capture is the opportunity it gives the Bush administration to seek more international cooperation on Iraq. Several papers see the capture as an opening for the White House to repair strained relations with France, Germany and other nations opposed to the war, and reluctant to help build the peace. V-O-A's _____________ joins us now with a sampling of these views in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.

TEXT: Saddam Hussein was captured as former Secretary of State James Baker was already abroad on a mission seeking forgiveness of Iraq's massive foreign debt from the European powers and Russia. Several papers say Saddam Hussein's capture will make Mr. Baker's task easier. Here is how The [New York] Daily News sees things.

VOICE: . President Bush's various war critics seem now to be bonding in general agreement that circumstances offer the administration "new opportunities" for this and that. Generally, they appear to mean new opportunities to internationalize the ongoing events in post-Saddam Iraq by reaching out to those truculent European nations with which we have had recent difficulties.. [That's] . not a bad idea at all. . Perhaps there are hints of a thaw in the air over the cold North Atlantic.

TEXT: Excerpts from a New York Daily News editorial. Moving to Florida, The Saint Petersburg Times also sees ".an opportunity to regain a better bargaining position with world leaders." The paper writes:

VOICE: Although [Mr. Baker's] mission is to try to persuade the Europeans to forgive Iraq's foreign debt, he should try to harness the congratulations on Hussein's capture and turn them into a more inclusive action plan for Iraq's reconstruction. Hussein's capture dramatically improved [Mr.] Baker's chances for success, if President Bush is willing to reach out to European leaders. . Many European leaders . still want more control in Iraq in exchange for new monetary concessions.

TEXT: The same theme echoes in South Carolina, as Charleston's Post and Courier suggests: "Mr. Baker can thank the timely arrest of Saddam for improving the chances of success in his mission to help Iraq out of an otherwise inescapable financial hole." Nashville's Tennessean, in its editorial, explains the financial difficulties facing Iraq:"

VOICE: Iraq owes 40-billion dollars to many of the 19 nations in the Paris Club, an international organization [and] another 80-billion to Arab nations. The Bush administration wants much of that debt forgiven . so . Iraq can spend its resources addressing . basic needs.

TEXT: Views of The Tennessean from Nashville. Turning to the capital of Texas, where Mr. Bush was governor, The Austin American-Statesman is not optimistic that Saddam's capture will prompt nations that were once hesitant to contribute to the effort to rebuild Iraq.

VOICE: As for the strained relations between the [U-S] and . France and Germany, Saddam's capture in no way settles the rankled feelings left by President . Bush's resistance to letting businesses based in those countries compete for reconstruction contracts.... Reducing the [Iraqi] debt obviously will depend on the good will the debtors extend to the United States.

Even though France and Germany shared in Sunday's celebration of Saddam's arrest, they were still chafing about their exclusion from the contract bidding. [However] careful listening and reading of language being exchanged indicates there is room for compromise.

TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of comment on how Saddam Hussein's capture may affect the international effort at rebuilding Iraq.

NEB/ANG/KL