FOX News Channel "Your World"-Transcript
MR. CAVUTO: Those 15 British hostages paraded on Iranian TV today. How would a guy who's made a reputation of getting very tough with illegal aliens handle increasingly hawkish Iranians if he were the president of the United States? Let's ask him. Joining me now, Colorado congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo.
All right, Congressman, you're President Tancredo. What do you do?
REP. TANCREDO: Well, first of all, I want to know why I haven't gotten my invitation from you for tonight's event. I mean, you don't write, you don't call. I expected to get an invitation from you.
MR. CAVUTO: (Laughs.) Well, actually, it's that tie.
REP. TANCREDO: It's that tie? Well, I was going to rent my tuxedo from the same place you got yours, but you took the last one.
MR. CAVUTO: Yeah, and it's cheap, very cheap. But what would you do, seriously. It's a mess, you know. How would you handle it?
REP. TANCREDO: It is a mess. Let me tell you one thing that has struck me about one aspect of our foreign policy that we have not pursued with Iran. The mullahs, the people running Iran, hate one group in particular out there -- part of the diaspora. Some of these folks who have been driven out of Iran want to go back. They are presently on our terrorist watch list, because we did this as a sock to the government some time ago under Clinton. We said we'd put them on the watch list. First of all, I would take them off the watch list. Then I would say look, you guys really -- you want a, what they tell us, a secular, democratic Iran. You know what? We're going to let you go in there and begin the process of doing just that. They are so afraid of this group and any other part of the Iranian diaspora that really wants to do something that I think we have a card to play in this game, and we should play it.
MR. CAVUTO: All right. So, you would get tough about that. But you know Iran's history, Congressman, probably better than many that it has a way of thumbing its nose at whatever threats it gets short of militarywise. And I just wonder what you'd do in light of that. Economically, there as ostracized as you can get anyway. So, what do you do?
REP. TANCREDO: Well, no, there are actually other things that you can do even economically. But I'm telling you this is a threat to them, and it's a greater threat than I think many people realize. We know inside of Iran today that all things are not good, that people are not happy with even the supreme leader and certainly not Ahmadinejad. All it takes, perhaps, is a push by some of the people who know the culture, who know the language and are willing to do something about it. And there are plenty of them out there; we just haven't used them. And I think that in doing that --
MR. CAVUTO: I thought we did.
REP. TANCREDO: No.
MR. CAVUTO: I thought we've been funding all these underground movements to topple the government.
REP. TANCREDO: No, sir, we really have not. And there are -- let me tell you one group in particular that are referred to as the MEK. And I will admit that there's a spotty history way back 30 years ago, but I'm telling you right now that they are willing and able. They want to do it, they are being constrained by the United States. We're actually protecting them in what's called Camp Ashraf, but we're not letting them do anything beyond just hang out there. We should use them much more effectively, and we can, we can.
MR. CAVUTO: But time is money, right, Congressman? Time is money. And many would argue your idea is sound, just as Senator Evan Bayh when he was here talking about the need to globally get alliance going about alienating them. And they defy and defy and defy, and if they do indeed have nuclear ambitions, they're ambitioning away.
REP. TANCREDO: Well, that's absolutely true. And there's a series of steps you take. You start out, of course, diplomatically. You move up to actions that you take that are beyond the diplomatic stage but short of an actual invasion or military action. And I'm telling you, we're at that second stage. I think that's where we are.
MR. CAVUTO: Okay. Congressman, if I don't see you tonight, I'll be the one serving drinks. You can't miss me.
END.