16 December 2003
State's Armitage Expects Iraq Insurgency Will Continue
Calls for fair, transparent trial for Saddam Hussein
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage expressed his belief that the insurgency will continue in Iraq following the capture of Saddam Hussein but voiced his expectation that the capture will facilitate discussions with key European allies regarding Iraqi debt reduction.
Speaking in a December 16 interview with NBC's Today Show, the deputy secretary noted that "after the deaths of Uday and Qusay there was actually a spike in violence."
He also expressed skepticism that Saddam had actually been directing the insurgency personally.
"Saddam Hussein was probably busy running from one hidey-hole to another, and it's rather doubtful that he's had much time to direct insurgencies. But there are sporadic reports that he does meet with people from time to time, so I suspect he has a good bit of information about them," Armitage said.
The deputy secretary said that no final decision has been made regarding a trial for the former Iraqi president but reaffirmed, "there is no question that it has to be fair, it has to be transparent, and it has to stand up to international scrutiny."
Following is a transcript of Armitage's interview:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
INTERVIEW
Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage
On NBC's Today Show with Katie Couric
December 16, 2003
Washington, D.C.
MS. COURIC: Mr. Armitage, thanks so much for joining us, and good morning.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Good morning, Ms. Couric.
MS. COURIC: Let me first ask you how Secretary of State Colin Powell is doing following surgery for prostate cancer yesterday at Walter Reed.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I'd say he's full of spit and vinegar this morning. He's already called me twice before 7 o'clock.
MS. COURIC: He has?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: So I think that's an indication that he's just fine.
MS. COURIC: Tell me what -- can you characterize your conversation, or is that personal?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, it is personal, but it's all business, and I think we will protect his privacy a bit.
MS. COURIC: I know he's expected to be out for about two weeks during which you'll resume his duties at the State Department, an incredibly busy time. So let me ask about Saddam Hussein. There have been reports that he's been quite sarcastic, a real wiseacre, so to speak. Do you have any examples of that?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Look, I think what you're seeing of people speculating in the press is probably just that: speculation. The information that comes from Saddam Hussein is going to be very closely held and it has to be checked out very closely because he is, in addition to being the terrible tyrant that we all knew, an unmitigated liar. So I would caution everyone to be very careful on what you see being speculated about.
MS. COURIC: I know, Mr. Armitage, that naming names and divulging who might be directing this insurgency is a top priority during this interrogation progress. It's being reported in The New York Times that Saddam has not been, or claims he has not been, directing the insurgency. Can you confirm that?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we have said previously, Ms. Couric, that Saddam Hussein was probably busy running from one hidey-hole to another, and it's rather doubtful that he's had much time to direct insurgencies. But there are sporadic reports that he does meet with people from time to time, so I suspect he has a good bit of information about them.
MS. COURIC: And, in fact, Time Magazine, Mr. Armitage, reported that when he was found he had a list of people who had been at a meeting in Baghdad. I'm assuming that's incredibly helpful to U.S. officials.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, it would be incredibly helpful if such a list exists. But if it does exist, the U.S. forces and coalition forces right now will be tracking down those people and trying to snatch them up.
MS. COURIC: Now, can you confirm a report that's running this morning on Al-Arabiyya Television that's based in Dubai, of course, that Saddam Hussein's longtime right-man, and someone reportedly leading the resistance, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, may have surrendered?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I saw the same wire report that you refer to, called out to Baghdad, and I didn't get a confirmation. But I only had a couple minutes before this broadcast to check it out.
MS. COURIC: How critical is his capture, in your view?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think it's another good step in the right direction. But I think the insurgency will continue for a bit longer. I would note that after the deaths of Uday and Qusay there was actually a spike in violence, and I suspect the morale of the Sunnis is quite down and they will act up and act out for a bit, a bit longer, whether al-Douri is captured or surrenders or not.
MS. COURIC: The Iraqi Governing Council has said that they hope to have Saddam Hussein stand trial in the next few weeks and be brought to justice by facing possible execution. As you well know, the tribunal was set up just last week. There is not a very strong judiciary system in Iraq.
What will the U.S. role be to ensure that he gets a fair and just trial, particularly since the eyes of the world will be watching and this might provide an excellent example to show democracy at work?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, the United States has been involved in the setting up of the tribunal to which you referred. There is an element of that tribunal that allows for foreign or outside assistance and participation. And though no final decisions have been made about just when and how to try Saddam Hussein, there is no question that it has to be fair, it has to be transparent, and it has to stand up to international scrutiny, just as the President said yesterday.
MS. COURIC: Saddam Hussein's arrest comes as former Secretary of State James Baker is on the road to win international support, specifically asking countries to forgive Iraq's debt. It just crossed the wire that U.S. envoy Baker says France and the U.S. agree on the need to reduce Iraq's debt burden.
It seems as if he is making some progress.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I suspect that our French friends and German friends and others who have had differences of opinion with us now, following the capture of Saddam Hussein, see an opportunity to put things on a better plane. And I think Mr. Baker is reaping the benefits of that, and I hope it continues and trust that it will.
MS. COURIC: As you well know, a memo written by Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary, earlier this month which said only countries which supported the United States during the war would be awarded contracts there, it makes you wonder if his policy and his agenda is the same as the State Department's and if, in fact, they are in conflict. Time Magazine, again, described Mr. Wolfowitz's memo as a disaster in its tact, timing and logic.
Your opinion?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think my friend Paul Wolfowitz got a bum rap. That was a fully coordinated position, and it makes a lot of sense to me that U.S. taxpayers' money regarding prime contracts should go to those who assisted us in the coalition. So I think that people are taking an unfair advantage of Mr. Wolfowitz.
MS. COURIC: And many people are saying one down, one to go, meaning Usama bin Laden is still not captured. How will the heat be turned up in Afghanistan with the hopes of apprehending him?
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I'm one of those who think we've got one more to go as well. And I think the lessons learned from the cross-checking of intelligence that finally brought us Saddam Hussein will bring benefits to Usama bin Laden, though I'd have to say that the tribal areas in mountains of Afghanistan are a much more difficult problem.
MS. COURIC: Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, again, thanks so much for joining us, and please give our very best to Secretary Powell and tell him we wish him a speedy recovery.
DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, thank you so much.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=December&x=20031216153359ndyblehs0.3387415&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
