Powell Says Liberation Will Change Negative Views of Iraq Policy

(Interviewed on CBS News March 25) (1150)





Secretary of State Colin Powell says the opinions of those who oppose


U.S. policy on Iraq "will change rapidly" once the current conflict is


ended and "the people of Iraq are facing a better life."





Interviewed March 25 on a CBS News Special with Leslie Stahl, Powell


acknowledged that there is anti-American opinion around the world with


respect to U.S. Iraq policy. But he told the interviewer:





"When this war is over and we have liberated Iraq and the people of


Iraq are facing a better life where their treasure, their oil


treasure, is not being used to develop weapons of mass destruction or


to threaten their neighbors, I think those opinions and those


attitudes will change rapidly."





Powell also described as "nonsense" criticism that the U.S. force in


Iraq is not large enough. "The plan that General [Tommy] Franks and


his commanders have put together is a decisive force that will get the


job done. So don't let one day's ups and downs suggest that the battle


isn't going well," he said.





Following is the transcript of the interview:





(begin transcript)





U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE


Office of the Spokesman


March 26, 2003





INTERVIEW





Secretary of State Colin L. Powell On CBS News Special With Leslie


Stahl





March 25, 2003





(Aired 10:00 p.m. EST)





MR. DAN RATHER: One man with an insider's view of war with Iraq is


Colin Powell -- Chairman of military Joint Chiefs of Staff during Gulf


War 1, now Secretary of State. Tonight, Leslie Stahl has an exclusive


interview with Secretary Powell.





MS. STAHL: The Secretary of Defense said that there are intelligence


reports that the chain of command in Iraq has been told to use


chemical weapons against our soldiers once that battle of Baghdad


starts.





SECRETARY POWELL: We listen to such reports and we make sure that we


have in our contingency planning how to handle such an attack.





Our troops went into this battle knowing that they might be exposed to


chemical weapons and, God forbid, biological weapons.





MS. STAHL: So these reports are not so specific. They are pretty vague


or they don't really exist?





SECRETARY POWELL: They are pretty vague. I mean they are reports.


People say that such instructions have been given.





It's a war. There is a living, breathing enemy out there who is doing


everything he can to keep us from knowing what his instructions are.





We are quite good with our intelligence, but not perfect.





MS. STAHL: The Powell Doctrine in military terms is that you throw a


massive force; if you're going to go to war, make it huge. There are


now criticisms we're beginning to hear that this force isn't massive


enough.





SECRETARY POWELL: It's nonsense. It's the usual chatter. I mean we


have commentators everywhere. Every general who ever worked for me is


now on some network commenting on the daily battle. And frankly,


battles come and wars come and they have ups and downs. They have a


rhythm to it. The Powell Doctrine was to use decisive force. And the


plan that General Franks and his commanders have put together is a


decisive force that will get the job done. So don't let one day's ups


and downs suggest that the battle isn't going well.





The United States Armed Forces with our coalition partners, the


British, principally, and the Australians, have gone 300 miles deep


into Iraq in a period of five days. That is a heck of an achievement.





MS. STAHL:  Yeah, but our -- the rear is exposed.





SECRETARY POWELL:  It's not -- exposed to what?  Exposed to small --





MS. STAHL:  Exposed to Fedeyeen, exposed --





SECRETARY POWELL: Fine. So, we'll get them in due course. They are not


exposed to a massive Iraqi army that is operating in a coordinated way


that could assault our flanks and stop our assault.





MS. STAHL: Are you saying you're not worried or concerned about


guerilla warfare?





SECRETARY POWELL: Of course we are, and we're trained to handle this.


But this chatter for the last 24 hours that everything is coming apart


because on Sunday we took a few casualties -- the casualties for this


operation have been low.





You don't want to slow your advance to go into a particular city and


spend all your time rooting out people that you will get in due


course. They are not threatening the events.





MS. STAHL:  But you can't get your supplies -- 





SECRETARY POWELL:  Who said?





MS. STAHL:  Well, you can't get the humanitarian aid in.





SECRETARY POWELL: Only because the minefields haven't been cleared at


the Port of Umm Qasr. But our troops are being supplied and water is


slowly being restored to places like Basra-- up to 40 percent of the


water capacity now. And that was a question of fixing the pumping


stations in Basra. And as soon as the mines have been cleared, the


ships are waiting to deliver the humanitarian supplies to Umm Qasr and


the situation will change rapidly.





MS. STAHL: How did we get to a place where much of the world thinks


that George Bush is more evil than Saddam Hussein? How did this


happen?





SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know that that is the case. I think people


are unhappy with our policy with respect to Iraq.





Now, is there anti-American opinion around the world with respect to


this issue? Yes. There's no question about it. But when this war is


over and we have liberated Iraq and the people of Iraq are facing a


better life where their treasure, their oil treasure is not being used


to develop weapons of mass destruction or to threaten their neighbors,


I think those opinions and those attitudes will change rapidly.





MS. STAHL: What I'm looking at is a poll, really not about the war,


it's just about the United States and our friends. It is kind of -- it


makes you feel terrible. India, Mexico. They have negative opinions


about the United States.





SECRETARY POWELL: You tell me why that I have consular officers all


over the world with visa lines going out in all direction -- people


trying to come to America. They want to be Americans; they want to go


to our hospitals, to our schools and other places.





MS. STAHL:  But do you admit that we have a problem?





SECRETARY POWELL:  Yes.  Yes.





MS. STAHL: And that we have to go -- we -- you have to go out and --





SECRETARY POWELL: We all do. We have to go out and take our case to


the world. And what we have to do is get this Iraq crisis behind us


and show the better life that's waiting for the Iraqi people and then


show progress in the Middle East, and this will turn.





MR. RATHER:  Colin Powell.





(end transcript)