If U.S. Goes to War, White House Says Nuclear Weapons Will Be in Arsenal
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: If the U.S. goes to war against Iraq, the White House made clear today that nuclear weapons will be in the arsenal. That of course does not mean nuclear weapons would be used, just that they might. Retired Air Force Major General Don Shepperd joins us from Tucson, Arizona with his take on the emerging military picture. And joining us from Washington for the first time is a CNN contributor, Iraqi expert Kenneth Pollack of the Brookings Institution. Thanks very much for being with us. Ken, let me start off with you. What are you expecting to hear from Hans Blix tomorrow?</s>KENNETH POLLACK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: well, I think the -- that is the big question. I think that we're pretty certain what we know is going to be in the report. He's going to go through both the things the Iraqis are doing, and the things that they're not doing. But I think that what -- big question out there is which does he choose to stress? Does he try to give a neutral report, which lays out both of these halves of the equation? That the glass is both half empty and half full? Or does he try to stress that the Iraqis are cooperating, which would be much more of a political message, saying give me more time.</s>COOPER: And if he does take this sort of middle of the road approach that is half empty, half full scenario, that's almost the most difficult scenario for the Bush administration to deal with?</s>POLLACK: Well it's better than him putting his own political spin on -- I think that's what the administration is really concerned about is that Blix will come out and he will stress the fact about glass is half full, and that will play to the French and the Germans, who are saying give more time to the inspectors. The administration wants Blix to come out and say we gave Saddam Hussein a choice. It was comply or don't comply. And he hasn't complied. And that more neutral take will be much more in keeping with what the administration would like to hear.</s>COOPER: We had hoped to have General Don Shepperd in the discussion. We're having some technical problems with him. So Ken, I'm just going to stick with you until General Shepperd's available, if at all. How important do you -- or what sort of import do you put on this word that Andrea Koppel reported earlier tonight that the U.S. State Department is drafting a second resolution possibly to submit to the U.N. Security Council?</s>POLLACK: I think it's very important. I think it's also very positive step. It indicates that the administration has not lost faith in the United Nations process as a whole, and is willing to go back to the United Nations and say look, we've decided to go to war, but we'd really prefer to do it with the rest of the world on our side. It's a very positive step. I don't know that the administration actually is certain that it can get the second resolution, but it's a good sign that they're not simply saying to heck with the U.N., we're going to do this alone.</s>COOPER: I'm told General Shepperd is available now. General Shepperd, thanks for joining us, glad you could make it. Word earlier today that nuclear weapons are sort of on the table, that they are in the arsenal. Is that unusual?</s>MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, USAF (RET.): No, it's not unusual at all. It's nothing new, Anderson. The value of nuclear weapons is their deterrence, not their use. And any would-be adversary of the United States has to worry that those weapons are available. We made it clear during the Gulf War that if Saddam employed chemicals and biological weapons, that he risked the use of those weapons. And he has to wonder if we would do it again.</s>COOPER: Militarily, can we go it alone?</s>SHEPPERD: We can go it alone. We have the capability to do it alone. As Ken just said, that is not the ideal way to do it. We'd like to get the support not only of the American people, which is absolutely essential. We learned that in Vietnam. We'd like to have the backing of the world community, too. And we don't want to go it alone, but we can.</s>COOPER: Ken, politically, can we go it alone?</s>POLLACK: Look, we can if we want to, but the big question is, what is the impact of the war and the diplomatic course we take in the future? As General Shepperd just pointed out, militarily we can do this. But the question is the reconstruction of Iraq is going to be much longer than the war itself. We want allies helping us with the reconstruction. And in addition, once Iraq is done, once Saddam Hussein is gone, we are still going to have to live in a world with lots of problems. And we're going to want the support of our allies, as much as we can in those future endeavors. And the more that we can bring them along in this one, the more likely it is we're going to have them with us in the future.</s>COOPER: We are obviously hearing some things from France, from Germany, obviously from Russia. We have not yet heard from England in the last couple of days. President Bush is going to be meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair I believe on the 31st. How significant is that meeting, Ken Pollack?</s>POLLACK: It's a very important one. Tony Blair's under a lot of pressure at home. And it's critical that the British be with us. I think the indications are that the British will be with us under pretty much any circumstances, but I think that President Bush wants to show his close friend, his good ally Tony Blair, that we're going to do everything we can to make it easier for Tony Blair to join this operation.</s>COOPER: General Shepperd, a final thought from you? Is this a done deal? Do you think we're going to war?</s>SHEPPERD: A betting man would say we're going to war. We wouldn't move that many forces and have them sit for a long time, although we could. Nor would we bring them home without using them. But a case has to be made to the American public and the world community. It all starts on the 28th with the State of the Union, Anderson.</s>COOPER: Ken Pollack, your thoughts? Is the momentum simply too much to stop at this point?</s>POLLACK: I tend to agree with General Shepperd. I think that the amount of troops that we're sending to the region suggests that the president has made up his mind.</s>COOPER: All right, interesting stuff. We will be watching this week, as will much of the world. Ken Pollack, General Shepperd, appreciate you joining us tonight. Thanks very much.</s>POLLACK: Thank you, Anderson. Be in Arsenal>