FOX "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace" - Transcript: Reps. King, Schiff on If President Obama's ISIS Strategy Will Succeed

Interview

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I'm Chris Wallace.

The White House intruder had a knife.

And Congress approves part of the Obama plan to fight ISIS amid growing dissent between the president and his top generals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: As your commander- in-chief, I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq.

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: If there are threats to the United States, then I of course would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces.

WALLACE: Will the president's strategy work?

We'll talk with two members of the House Intelligence Committee, Peter King and Adam Schiff.

Then, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he got it wrong in the Ray Rice case, but promises to crack down on domestic violence.

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I made a mistake. I'm not satisfied with the process that we went through. I'm not satisfied with the conclusions.

WALLACE: With a number of major sponsors turning up the heat, where does the NFL go from here?

We'll talk with sports commentator Jim Gray, and our Sunday panel weighs in.

Plus, it's just 44 days to the midterm elections, with control of the Senate up for grabs.

We'll handicap the key races and get some predictions from our political gurus, Karl Rove and Joe Trippi.

And our power player of the week, best-selling author Daniel Silva on creating one of fiction's top spies.

DANIEL SILVA, AUTHOR: I think that secretly, we hope that there are people like Gabriel Allon out there.

WALLACE: All right now on "Fox News Sunday."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And hello again from Fox News in Washington.

The Secret Service has stepped up security around the White House after a man with a knife made it inside the president's home Friday night.

Fox News correspondent Elizabeth Prann joins us from the North Lawn where it all happened -- Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH PRANN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Chris.

Well, security has been enhanced all weekend after a Texas man carrying a 3 1/2 serrated blade jumped over the fence and charged the White House. One Secret Service director said the location of his arrest is unacceptable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRANN (voice-over): It was all caught on video -- 42-year-old Omar Gonzalez sprinting toward the pillars of the north portico. He wasn't stopped until he had passed through the threshold of the White House doors. A source says at least one officer was outside the front door with his weapon out but decided not to shoot, using his own discretion. Gonzalez was not taken down on the lawn, or met by dogs.

DON BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I can't understand why the dog wasn't released. Why no one intercepted or tackled him, none of the personnel. It's baffling to me and I think to a lot of folks.

PRANN: The president was not home at the time, having left just minutes beforehand with his daughters for Camp David. The first lady was also away.

It's only been about a week and a half since a man wearing a Pokemon costume jumped the fence in a similar fashion and charged the White House property. However, he was met immediately by officers with guns, and a dog unit.

On Saturday, law enforcement officials conducted a shoulder-to- shoulder sweep of the White House's north lawn, the front plaza and adjacent park. Just hours before, New Jersey man Kevin Carr was arrested and charged for trying to enter a barricaded White House entry with his car.

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PRANN: Gonzalez was charged with unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. The Secret Service said just last night they're conducting a comprehensive review.

Chris, back to you.

WALLACE: Elizabeth Prann reporting from the White House -- Elizabeth, thanks for that.

Congress is now on record giving bipartisan approval to President Obama's plan to train Syrian rebels. But it was a "hold your nose and say yes" vote, as members of Congress and some of the president's top military advisers expressed strong doubts about the Obama plan to fight ISIS.

We want to explore that with two members of the House Intelligence Committee who both voted to approve the president's request.

In New York, Republican Congressman Peter King, and here in Washington, Democrat Adam Schiff.

Before we get to ISIS, Congressman King, you're also a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. I want to ask your reaction to this terrible security breach at the White House, and what does the Secret Service need to do better?

REP. PETER KING, R-N.Y.: Chris, I have great respect for the Secret Service but this is absolutely inexcusable that he went over the fence, and I believe it takes 35 to 40 seconds to run across the lawn. A dog can be released in four seconds. Their senses were working there and then he made it all the way to the White House, and actually entered the front door and the fact that they said he wasn't brought down because they didn't think he had a weapon. He could have had a body bun (ph); he could have a vest on. As we know, he did have a knife.

So, this demands a full investigation, and investigation into what happened, why it happened, and what's being done to make sure it never happens again. And I'm on the Homeland Security Committee, and I'm sure that Chairman McCaul will be holding a hearing as to what happened. And also, as to how the recommendations are being implemented.

There can be a lot of conspiracies against a president. A lot of very complex assassination plots. This is the most basic, the most simple type of procedure and how anyone, especially in these days of ISIS, and we're concerned about terrorist attacks, someone could actually get into the White House without being stopped is inexcusable.

WALLACE: Let's turn to ISIS. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. wants other nations to agree to take on Syria before we launch airstrikes in Syria, perhaps as early as this coming week.

Congressman Schiff, how dependent should the U.S. be on this international coalition -- especially for military support so that we don't appear to be going it alone?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-N.Y.: I think it's going to be very important that we get the support of our regional allies. And I think we will get that support. But it will be tempered. And it's not as if we could say, OK, we have their support, we can count on it.

We're going to have to go back to them time and time again pressuring them to do more. Pressuring the Turks to shut down their borders to foreign jihadists coming in and oil revenues going out. Pressuring the Qataris and Saudis to cut down on the financing, pressuring them to put an overt Arab and Sunni face on the opposition.

I do think it's significant, Chris, that Saudi Arabia is now willing to overtly, openly host the training for this rebel force. That's a very significant step that will put a big target on Saudi backs. So, we are getting some meaningful cooperation, but they're not doing it because they love us. They're doing it because they recognize ISIS is a real threat to them.

WALLACE: Secretary of State Kerry was at the U.N. this week trying to round up international support, and he made this surprising statement.

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JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: There is a role for nearly every country in the world to play, including Iran.

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WALLACE: Congressman King, a couple of questions. First of all, are you as surprised as I am that Secretary Kerry would be inviting Iran into the international coalition?

And, generally speaking, how do you feel? Are we getting enough support, especially military support, active military action by our international allies?

KING: No, Chris, so far we're not. And where I disagree with the president on this -- to me, attacking ISIS, attacking ISIS in Syria is in our national interest. Now if we can get allies, if we can get a coalition together, that's fine, and we should work on it.

But we can't be beholden to a coalition because we're not doing this out of humanitarian purposes and quite frankly we're not doing it for the people of Syria or Iraq. Ultimately we're doing it because it's in our national interest to do so.

And if that's the case, we can't be holding back. We should attack and strike and do all we can to the command and control centers that ISIS has in Syria. That is a key component of ISIS located in Syria so we shouldn't be waiting for other countries.

WALLACE: And what about Iran?

KING: I think it's a terrible mistake. First of all the fact that there's Shiites, and there's so much involved, Sunnis.

Also, Iran is powerful enough. I mean, they are ultimately they are the main threat in that part of the world, and to be doing anything at all to build them up, to give them sanctuary, to in effect have them on our side, what does that do to Israel? What does that do to their nuclear development in plan? I think it weakens our position.

I cannot understand why we want to get Iran involved.

WALLACE: We're continuing to see this remarkable split between the president, who has doubled down this week, and said absolutely no U.S. boots on the ground in a combat role and his top military advisers, current and former civilian and military, all saying that we can't rule that out. That's a real possibility.

Congressman King, your best judgment, will U.S. forces at some point have to get involved in some kind of a combat role if only to call in air strikes, and to help Iraqi and Peshmerga forces on the front line?

KING: Well, Chris, we already have American troops on the ground. We have Special Forces there. They are obviously, you know, they're in harm's way. And I don't see how ultimately we can avoid putting combat troops on the ground in some capacity.

But more than that, I don't know why the president says up front that we're not going to put boots on the ground. Don't take anything off the table. Never let the enemy know what you're going to do or not going to do.

We had General Madison (ph) before the intelligence committee on Friday and he was saying there's two parts to this. One, you should never let the enemy know what you're going to do. But secondly if we are going to expect coalition troops on our side from the region, if the president takes one step forward and one step sideways saying he's not going to use combat troops that to them shows a lack of seriousness of purpose, and that's why it's going to be hard to get the Saudis or Jordanians or UAE involved because they're afraid that the president is not going to stick this out. Why should they be?

WALLACE: Let me bring Congressman Schiff into this.

You oppose the use of ground forces in a combat role in Iraq. But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dempsey, the Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno say that they may be need. And so, in fact, does Robert Gates the first Obama secretary of defense. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: There will be boots on the ground if there's to be any hope of success in the strategy. I think by continuing to repeat that the president in effect traps himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Congressman, are Gates and Odierno and Dempsey, are they all wrong?

SCHIFF: No, I don't think they're all wrong. But I don't think they're at odds with the president. What Dempsey has said is if circumstances down the road pose a threat to the United States, he'll make a different recommendation. That is what he should do. His role is different than the president's.

But I think the president --

WALLACE: But the president isn't saying, well, if circumstances change, he's saying no. No U.S. combat forces.

SCHIFF: Yes, that's what he's saying. But Dempsey is also saying that he subscribes to the strategy of utilizing Iraqi and Peshmerga forces on the ground, not Americans in the combat mission. I think that's the right call.

What the general is saying I'm in agreement with that strategy. If that strategy doesn't work or at some point there's a threat to the United States, I'm going to make a different recommendation to the president. And that's exactly what we should want --

WALLACE: And you think the president will be open then to a different strategy?

SCHIFF: I think the president will be open.

But, Chris, I want a president who is not going to accept everything that the military says uncritically.

Look, we have tried massive occupations in Iraq earlier, and in Afghanistan. We're in Afghanistan now 13 years later, we still haven't solved the problem in Afghanistan. Do we really want to be in a position where 13 years from now, we are massively occupying Syria and Iraq? I don't think that's what we want.

And one other point, Chris, that is, the president's role is obviously different than the military command's role. If the military command's job to tell the president what they want, it's the president's job to decide what they need, and the president has to bring our country along. That's a tough job.

WALLACE: We have a couple of minutes left. I want to ask you each one more question.

Congressman Schiff, I'm going to ask you about Congress because this week as we pointed out, you did approve $500 million to arm and train the Syrian rebels. On the other hand, you're going to go home, without a larger vote to authorize what in effect is a new war.

And the question I have is, is Congress forfeiting its constitutional responsibility?

SCHIFF: Absolutely. Absolutely. The president has said this is a war. This is going to last years. That is quintessentially something that is the power of Congress only to declare, and I think we are really advocating our responsibility.

Congress should take up an authorization to use force -- as you know, Chris, I've introduced one that would be very narrow but would I think bring this fight within a constitutional framework. I don't accept the administration's argument we can rely on the 2001 AUMF which applied to a different conflict against a different enemy at a different time.

So, I think it's an abdication of constitutional dimension.

WALLACE: Finally, Congressman King, and as we mentioned you're a member of the house homeland security committee, there was this extraordinary event in Australia this week where 15 people were arrested in Australia for allegedly planning public beheadings that they'd been urged to carry out on the Internet.

How concerned are you about the threat here to the U.S. homeland, either from ISIS or from other al Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria like a new group we're hearing about, Khorasan? How concerned are you about the threat to the U.S. homeland either from self-radicalized people who hear about these things on the Internet or foreign fighters who are in Syria or Iraq and then come back?

KING: Chris, I am very concerned. We still have al Qaeda. We still have al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. We have this new group you mention the Khorasan group and ISIS and other al Qaeda affiliates, plus homegrown.

And I don't subscribe to this belief at all that ISIS is not a threat to the homeland. Not just from fighters coming back, but they have thousands of Europeans with passports who can come into the U.S. They have more money, more fighters, and more sophistication than al Qaeda had on 9/11. They are a real threat to the U.S. In fact back in 2011, they --

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: Real briefly.

SCHIFF: We can't take our eye off the ball, because al Qaeda, the al Nusra franchise in Syria, poses a more immediate threat to our homeland than ISIS does at the present. They're trying to work with AQAP bomb makers to smuggle on bombs on our planes. We cannot lose sight of that threat. That's really the more immediate threat to Americans --

KING: Adam, I would disagree. I would say they're all a threat. They're equal threats. They're coming at us and we have to be on our guard at all times.

If ISIS went into Australia, they could certainly come into the U.S. In 2011, they attempt to attack Fort Knox. So, all of them, I say, are threats we cannot let our guard down at all.

WALLACE: Gentlemen, you have thoroughly scared me. Congressman King, Congressman Schiff, thank you both. Thanks for coming in today.

SCHIFF: Thank you.

WALLACE: Coming up, the latest on the scandal involving the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

But, first, how much of a coalition has President Obama put together to fight ISIS? Our Sunday panel joins us next.

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