FOX Your World With Neil Cavuto Transcript - Interview with Mike DeWine, Bill Nelson

Fox News Network

SHOW: YOUR WORLD WITH NEIL CAVUTO (16:00)

July 17, 2003 Thursday

HEADLINE: Interview With Mike DeWine, Bill Nelson

GUESTS: Mike DeWine, Bill Nelson

BYLINE: Brenda Buttner

BODY:
BRENDA BUTTNER, GUEST HOST: And back to Blair's address to Congress.

Joining me now with their reaction, Mike DeWine, Republican senator from Ohio, and Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat from Florida.

Welcome to you both.

Well, Senator DeWine, can I get your reaction to the speech?

SEN. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH), SELECT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, you know, I've been in Congress, I guess, 17 years now, and it was one of the more memorable moments. It was just a very dramatic moment.

And he made a very strong defense for the actions that the United States and Great Britain have taken. And I think the most memorable part, where he said that, you know, we're with you, we're going to be with you, we're going to stay with you.

BUTTNER: And Senator Nelson?

SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL), ARMED SERVICE COMMITTEE: I would echo that. It was very interesting watching him in the chamber of the House of Representatives. He was thoroughly enjoying the moment with that thunderous and enthusiastic applause that he was greeted with.

And, as he got toward the end, when he said that America is something special and it's—that you need to keep on with your values, and, as he wrapped up his speech with that call to arms to keep liberty alive, I mean, you could just feel the passion in the chamber.

BUTTNER: Well, these were very symbolic wonderful words, but they—they also mean some very serious actions. They could mean action against North Korea. They could mean Liberia.

Did you take them to—to read that, Senator DeWine?

DEWINE: Well, I—what I take to it to mean is that, you know, this is a man who has been with the United States at great political risk to himself. We all have seen what's going on in the parliament of Great Britain. We have seen the question period. Here is a man who has been embattled, and here is a man who has put his political career basically where his mouth is and...

BUTTNER: But do—do you think that...

DEWINE: ... he is—he has done that, and so...

BUTTNER: Do you think that those are the kind of actions, though, that he was speaking of specifically?

DEWINE: I don't know that he was speaking specifically of that. What he is—he was talking about is the price that we have to pay for freedom. He was talking about Afghanistan. He was talking about Iraq. Those are two specific things he was talking about.

BUTTNER: OK. Senator Nelson, at one point, you said that history will forgive if weapons allegations used as justification for Iraq were wrong. Do you agree with that?

NELSON: Would you state that statement again...

BUTTNER: I'm sorry. He...

NELSON: ... because I didn't understand what you said.

BUTTNER: He—he said at one point that history will forgive us if weapons allegations used as justification were wrong. Basically, I take that to mean he was talking about the uranium controversy.

Do you think that that's true, that history will forgive, if, in fact, the intelligence was wrong on this issue?

NELSON: I think, in the big picture of history, the fact that we liberated Iraq is going to be a plus. Now if, in the process, we used faulty intelligence, it is not a question of the end result in Iraq, it's a question about the protection of America in the future, and we better have accurate and timely intelligence to protect ourselves against terrorists in the future.

BUTTNER: And do you think that there needs to be some accountability then? Do some heads need to roll perhaps at the CIA?

NELSON: Well, I think there definitely needs to be some accountability. I don't think there ought to be a sacrificial lamb. That's why we've got to get to the bottom of it and know what, in fact, happened and where the intelligence was skewed. That's just basic to the defense of our interests in this country.

BUTTNER: Senator DeWine, your—your reaction to that?

DEWINE: Well, my reaction to that is that, clearly, 16 words that were in the president's State of the Union speech should not have been in there. They shouldn't have been in there because we didn't have enough good information to put them in and to put the president out in front to make those statements.

That was bad—literally bad staff work. The director of the CIA has said that he should not have allowed them to be put in there. People...

BUTTNER: All right.

DEWINE: The present staff shouldn't have allowed that to happen.

Let me also say, though, I think that the director of the CIA has done a good job, he's a strong person, he should stay in the job.

BUTTNER: All right.

Gentlemen...

NELSON: And I agree with that, by the way.

BUTTNER: Gentlemen, thank you so much...

DEWINE: Thank you.

BUTTNER: ... for your insights. We do appreciate them.