CNN American Morning - Transcript
CNN American Morning - Transcript
Thursday, June 23, 2005
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M. O'BRIEN: As we have been telling you, insurgents are upping the number of car bomb attacks in Iraq. As many as eight just since Wednesday. More than 30 killed. Three of those attacks just today and within just 15 minutes. This increasing violence comes as lawmakers in Washington question the U.S. ongoing role in Iraq.
Senator Joe Biden is the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He's recently back from Iraq.
Senator Biden, good to have you with us.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Nice to be with you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You talk about the administration having a credibility gap on Iraq. What do you mean by that?
BIDEN: Well, the reality on the ground is much different than what the administration says is on the ground in Iraq. You have the vice president saying the insurgency is in its last throes. I didn't meet one military person in Iraq who thinks that's the case. The insurgency is getting stronger, not weaker.
And I think it's time that if we're going to keep the American people in on this deal, which we have to-it's important in order to win-we need at least another year over there. The president is going to have to level with them and tell them the hard part is coming. We can still do this. He's going to make some changes. Here is what they are, and this is how we're going to do it. But he can't continue this stuff about we're doing great. The American people are smarter than that. We're not doing that well.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, is the administration truly being disingenuous about it? I mean, the administration is-currently the president is saying we're making progress toward the goal, which is, on the one hand, a political process moving forward in Iraq. On the other hand, Iraqis capable of defending themselves. That statement seems like it's defendable. BIDEN: That is defendable, if you explain it. We've trained 2,500 Iraqis, fully trained them so they could take over for American forces. The vice president keeps saying we've trained 159,000 Iraqis, who are capable of defending themselves in Iraq. That's not true.
My folks back home, Miles, say, look, if we have 130,000 or 140,000 of our people there, why do we need them if they've already trained 159,000 Iraqis? And it's because we haven't trained that many people.
So, the president should say we are making some progress. The hard part is coming up now. They've got to write a constitution and have a vote, bring Sunnis into the process, get some ability to defend themselves and be able to guard their borders so these jihadists don't keep coming across. Car bombings are up significantly. Deaths are up. So that's what the American people know and see. They want the truth.
M. O'BRIEN: The spokesperson at the Republican National Committee called you the pessimist-in-chief on Iraq. Just the other day, Kofi Annan, who is no supporter of the situation in Iraq, had an op-ed in "The Washington Post." The headline, there's progress in Iraq. And he said among other things: "There will be no doubt frustrating delays and difficult setbacks. But let us not lose sight of the fact that all over Iraq today, Iraqis are debating nearly every aspect of their political future."
Are you looking at it half-empty?
BIDEN: No, I think that's absolutely true. Miles, I've been on your program. I've been a supporter of this president. I've been the one who has been over there five times. I've been the one who has voted for the $87 billion and more money for Iraq. I've been the one that says we need more troops over there. So, I am not a pessimist at all.
But I can tell you what, look at the polling numbers. The American people are beginning to think that this is not doable, because there is a gap between the reality of what's happening over there and the rhetoric they hear here. And this cannot go on.
The president should go on national television, tell the American people what the progress is, tell them why we have to stay there and finish, tell them why we can't bring the troops home now, tell them they're going to stay there for a year, and how we're going to win, and get the American people's support. But we're losing it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to turn the corner on you and let's talk a little bit about politics. You've expressed some interest in the presidency this time. Twenty years ago in 1988, you were in the thick of it. One of the issues was flag burning. And it appears that issue is back with us. First of all, I want to get you on record on that issue.
BIDEN: I do not think we need a constitutional amendment to protect the flag. I think that is overkill. I think that the greatest worry we have is not flag burning out there; it's respect for the values that this country has. I think we should be focusing on those things, not on constitutional amendments to ban flag burning. There are more constitutional amendments on most anything.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Senator Joe Biden, thank you very much for your time.
BIDEN: Thank you.
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