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Bush Told of POWs' Rescue

Aired April 13, 2003 - 09:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go now to Dana Bash. As we've just said, CNN has learned President Bush knows that the Americans have been found and are now at this point safe, and being looked at for their medical concerns. Dana Bash standing by to tell us more about that. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, the president is at Camp David today, but was called by his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, at about 7:00 this morning and told that missing Americans had been found. Unclear exactly what his reaction was, but you can imagine it was one of great joy.

Also unclear at this point, how many details she had at that time about who they were and what their conditions were. That, of course, was about the same time that we heard from Tommy Franks, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, that they were getting preliminary reports about the same time. But we do know that the president was informed by his national security adviser, by telephone this morning, at Camp David.

I'm told that the president, in his daily briefings with his national security council, with his war council, at the top of his list, almost every time, he does ask about missing soldiers, missing servicemen, asking about their whereabouts, what information, what new information they have about them. So it is something that he has certainly kept close tabs on.

He was asked about it by a reporter on Friday, about the importance of priority for getting them back. And he said that we'll use every resource we have to find any POWs that are alive, and we pray that they are alive because if they are, we will find them. And today they have found at least seven, and the president was informed about it this morning at Camp David. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash, thanks so much for the update there.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 13, 2003 - 09:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go now to Dana Bash. As we've just said, CNN has learned President Bush knows that the Americans have been found and are now at this point safe, and being looked at for their medical concerns. Dana Bash standing by to tell us more about that. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, the president is at Camp David today, but was called by his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, at about 7:00 this morning and told that missing Americans had been found. Unclear exactly what his reaction was, but you can imagine it was one of great joy.

Also unclear at this point, how many details she had at that time about who they were and what their conditions were. That, of course, was about the same time that we heard from Tommy Franks, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, that they were getting preliminary reports about the same time. But we do know that the president was informed by his national security adviser, by telephone this morning, at Camp David.

I'm told that the president, in his daily briefings with his national security council, with his war council, at the top of his list, almost every time, he does ask about missing soldiers, missing servicemen, asking about their whereabouts, what information, what new information they have about them. So it is something that he has certainly kept close tabs on.

He was asked about it by a reporter on Friday, about the importance of priority for getting them back. And he said that we'll use every resource we have to find any POWs that are alive, and we pray that they are alive because if they are, we will find them. And today they have found at least seven, and the president was informed about it this morning at Camp David. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash, thanks so much for the update there.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com