Saxby Chambliss on CNN Newsnight

SHOW: CNN NEWSNIGHT AARON BROWN 22:00

May 24, 2004 Monday 10:00 PM Eastern Time

Transcript # 052400CN.V84

HEADLINE: President Bush Addresses the Nation; Oregon Attorney Cleared in Connection with Madrid Train Bombings;

GUESTS: Joe Biden, Saxby Chambliss, David Gergen, Noah Feldman

BYLINE: Aaron Brown, John King, Jeff Greenfield, Barbara Starr, Kelli Arena, Judy Woodruff, Harris Whitbeck, Beth Nissen

HIGHLIGHT: President Bush addresses the nation. Differing opinions of attack by U.S. troops on wedding party in Iraq; Oregon attorney cleared in connection with Madrid train bombings.

Senator Saxby Chambliss, a freshman Republican from the State of Georgia, he watched the president from his home in Georgia. We're pleased to have him with us tonight too. Senator, thank you.

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS ®, GEORGIA: Good to be with you, Aaron.

BROWN: Did you hear anything that will make the country do you think more comfortable with the route the administration is taking or was it simply a restatement of everything everyone has heard for six months?

CHAMBLISS: Well, Aaron, I don't think the speech was intended to really come forward and lay out the details of any presidential plan or administration plan to provide for the future of the Iraqi people. What the president said all along is that the Iraqi people are going to decide that.

I did think what the president said today was two things. First of all, he established a five point plan. His critics over the last several weeks have been saying the administration has no plan.

Well, tonight he spelled out the plan that we've been operating under and that we're going to move forward with to create an independent Iraq and turn the government of Iraq over to the Iraqi people.

Secondly, I thought what he said was he made it very clear that the U.S. military is going to be there for a while. It's going to be under the control though of American commanders. It's necessary that we have security. Joe is exactly right. We don't accomplish anything without security in that country.

The president's leaving no illusions out there. There's going to be more violence both before June 30 and after June 30 but the American military is going to be there to establish security in that country.

Now there was one phrase that the president used, Aaron, that I thought was particularly significant. He said that over the last several weeks an underlying, really uncovered issue in the situation in Iraq is the dismantling of the militia there.

Well, what that means is we've been killing a bunch of bad guys and that's got to continue. We have simply got to get the security under control and we're doing that.

BROWN: Senator.

CHAMBLISS: And I thought it was...

BROWN: I'm sorry, can I just ask a question on that point because in tomorrow's-at least in the "International Herald" and I therefore suspect "The New York Times," front page story is going to say that the United States may not be disbanding the militias at all.

The U.S. is still considering whether to disband militias. Is it possible to have a secure Iraq if you've got a bunch of little armies running around beholding to this group or that group?

CHAMBLISS: Well, it isn't possible to have security in Iraq if those insurgents or those militias are attacking American troops. That's what it's critically important that we move ahead to create an Iraqi force, a military of 35,000 people as the president said tonight and we need the Iraqis providing for their own security with our help.

We've been hand-in-hand with them in different communities and cities in Iraq over the last several days and weeks. It's working. It's working very slowly the cooperation of the Iraqi police force and the American troops but we are getting there and I think the president again was very forceful in his statement to that effect tonight. That's got to happen though if we're going to have a peaceful Iraq and an Iraq that can be run by the Iraqi people.

BROWN: Let me ask you one more question on that point then. Are you absolutely, 100 percent confident that the Iraqi-as long as American troops are in Iraq that Iraqis will stand and fight those people who are attacking their country?

CHAMBLISS: Well they're going to have to. If they're not going to do it with us there, Aaron, then certainly they're not going to do it with us not there. We can't afford to let the insurgents come in from surrounding countries, the really truly terrorists in that part of the world and somehow secure that country themselves, somehow infiltrate the government of that country to where they really run the country.

We can't let that happen. We started this for the right reasons. We're on the right track. It's a very, very difficult and complex track but in order to get there it's going to require the presence of Americans for probably a long time to come. You'll see us downsize I hope immediately but it's still going to require us to be there for a while to come.

BROWN: Senator, we are most pleased to have you with us tonight. I hope you'll join us again soon. Thank you.

CHAMBLISS: Sure.

BROWN: Thank you.