CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: on Netanyahu's Speech to Congress, The Iran Deal, and Efforts Against ISIS in Iraq

Interview

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BLITZER: Yes. I think there's no doubt that one of the reasons he wanted to deliver the speech was to get some political support back in Israel. But there's some analysts who think that could have backfired, given the deteriorating U.S./Israeli relationship at the same time. Kate, thanks very much.

Let's get some more now.

Joining us, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat of Hawaii. She's a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committee, also an Iraq War veteran.

Congresswoman, thanks for coming in.

You will attend the prime minister's speech before the joint session of Congress tomorrow, right?

REP. TULSI GABBARD (D), HAWAII: Yes. I will be there.

BLITZER: Because you know a lot of your -- not a lot, but maybe 30 of your Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate have at least publicly already said they are not going to come because they think it's inappropriate.

GABBARD: I think it's important to look at the issues here.

I think, first of all, yes, the invite should have been handled better. At a bare minimum, the president should have been given the respect of being informed by Speaker Boehner and the prime minister, his ambassador here, that this was happening.

But I think it's unfortunate that this really has turned into a very big distraction. And it's turned into a somewhat partisan issue away from the shared objectives that both the United States and Israel share, which is the issue at hand of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

If you look at where Israel sits, obviously, the prime minister of Israel is deeply concerned about the outcome of these negotiations, as they directly impact and threaten the people of Israel. I think it's important to hear what he has to say.

But then Congress, we need to do our job to make sure that we don't stand by and let Iran develop a nuclear weapon.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to what your Republican colleague from Utah Jason Chaffetz -- he was sitting in that seat in the last hour -- told me. Listen to this.

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BLITZER: And he also had some other strong words. We will play another clip from him.

But are you over it right now, the fact that the speaker did not go through protocol and alert the White House and at least consult with the White House, I want to invite the prime minister to address Congress?

GABBARD: By his not doing that, it's created the situation where we're in today, where so much of the conversation is around how the invitation took place and when the president was informed, rather than on the substance of the issue at hand, that these negotiations are ongoing, what the prime minister from Israel is going to speak about.

And so I think we have to get past the distraction and really come together and recognize, as it has been, it must continue to be a bipartisan concern, an issue about Iran's nuclear capability.

BLITZER: I want to pick your brain where you stand on these negotiations. But listen once again. Here is Jason Chaffetz, the Republican congressman from Utah, who has no confidence in these current U.S.-led negotiations with Iran.

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BLITZER: You heard him say he would support a preemptive military strike to try to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities. Are you with him on that?

GABBARD: I think it's -- we have got to look -- of course, at diplomatic and a negotiation that is successful is I think everyone's ideal approach to this.

But I, like so many others, have some very deep cynicism about the odds of that being successful.

BLITZER: A military strike?

GABBARD: Well, of coming to a negotiation...

BLITZER: Oh, I see. Yes.

GABBARD: ... that would prevent us from even having the conversation.

BLITZER: What happens if there's no deal?

GABBARD: Well, then I think we do have to look at, what are our other options on the table? We have got to look at whether breakout time that Iran has and look at every option that we have to make sure that that objective -- Iran's objective of a nuclear weapon is not achieved.

BLITZER: The options, if there's no deal -- and the president himself just said in this interview with Reuters there might not be a deal. He's not necessarily 100 percent confident that there will be a deal. The options are then you go back and you strengthen the sanctions, you try to isolate them as much as possible.

And then the last option would be some sort of military strike. What you are saying is...

GABBARD: We need to keep all options on the table in order to reach that objective of making sure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon, not only for what that would do with Iran and Iran's intentions, but also for what the -- the impact that it would have on the proliferation of nuclear weapon development in the region and other parts of the world.

BLITZER: So, I sort of hear you agreeing with Congressman Chaffetz.

GABBARD: I think we need to keep all options on the table.

BLITZER: In the end, all options on the table. But you are not rushing for any military action?

GABBARD: Absolutely not.

BLITZER: Are you closer right now to the president's position to go forward with these negotiations or the prime minister's position that these negotiations, for all practical purposes, are disruptive and a waste of time?

GABBARD: Well, frankly, I think Congress is looking for more information, looking for the details of these negotiations, and looking with cynicism.

I think one of the issues that has been coming up in Congress has been the issue of sanctions and recognizing that these sanctions are not turned on and off like a spigot very quickly. If there is a negotiated outcome that Iran does not hold up its end to the deal, simply saying we are going to turn the light switch back on and these sanctions will be fully back in place, I think, is really not a realistic view.

We're looking at it with a very cynical eye, because thus far Iran has not shown that it can be trusted.

BLITZER: I want you to stand by, Congresswoman. We have much more to discuss.

Tulsi Gabbard, she's here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following the breaking news. We're also waiting for Susan Rice. The president's national security adviser, she's about to address the pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC. We will have live coverage.

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BLITZER: Unfortunately, we have lost the connection. We are going to try to fix it with the conference that is going on, the AIPAC conference.

As soon as we get that line cleared up, we will go back and hear what Susan Rice has to say.

In the meantime, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is with us, the Democrat from Hawaii, the Iraq War veteran, member of key committees in Congress. We're talking about this U.S.-Israeli relationship. She is speaking now before this AIPAC group. You were there at a panel discussion earlier today. She has got a lot of work to do to try to fix the U.S./Israeli relationship. The president has a lot of work to do. But the prime minister has a lot of work to do as well. It's a tense time.

GABBARD: Yes.

And that was one of the questions that was brought up in the panel that I was on, which had three post-9/11 veterans, U.S. veterans talking about some of the bonds that exist between U.S. veterans and service members, as well as the Israeli Defense Force and different ways that both of our countries have benefited from the strong military partnership.

I look back to our senior senator from Hawaii, Senator Dan Inouye, Medal of Honor recipient, World War II veteran and someone who really has been -- was critical throughout his life in getting funding for the Iron Dome and really served as a major partner for Israel with a lot of the advances that they have had and also brought a lot of the benefits to the U.S. military as well.

BLITZER: Yes, Senator Daniel Inouye, a great United States senator, a war hero and a strong supporter of Israel at the same time. What advice do you have right now for the president of the United States, the president's national security adviser, Susan Rice, to try to fix this clearly tense relationship?

GABBARD: I think put yourself in Israel's shoes.

I think whether you are -- when you in any kind of situation, where there's a little bit of a standoff and personalities and egos are hurt, if you put yourself in their shoes and understand where he is coming from, where the Israeli people are coming from and their deep concern about Iran's continued development of a nuclear weapon and what they want to do with that, and I think Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to do the same with President Obama and what he is trying to accomplish here.

I think if they do that, they can listen the standoff and come to an understanding where they recognize, look, we're working towards the same goal and see how they can find some areas of agreement.

BLITZER: How worried are you, though, that about 30 or so, at least 30 of your Democrats in the House and Senate, including one of your senators from Hawaii, have decided to boycott Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech tomorrow morning?

GABBARD: I think the message needs to rise to the top that this is not about partisan politics. It's about two strong allies and strong friends for so long, both working towards the same objective, two allies who have different ideas how to get there. But, ultimately, this friendship and partnership will continue, and to the benefit of both of our countries.

BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about what's going on in the war against ISIS.

You served in Iraq. You spent a year there, right? You risked your life going over there. Right now, the Iraqi military says they are moving towards trying to liberate Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's birthplace, his hometown, from ISIS.

They have got a lot of support from the Iranians right now. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, they are in there. It sounds like a very, very complicated, tenuous situation. I'm not very optimistic this whole Iraqi military operation is going to succeed.

GABBARD: I also have concerns about this for one primary reason, which is what you mentioned, the fact that the Iranian forces are playing such a major role in this. The Shia militias are playing such a major role in this.

And my question is, where are the Sunni fighters? Tikrit, like Mosul, is a Sunni homeland. And if there is not an agreement in place before this attack happens and if the Sunni fighters are not playing a side- by-side role in this with a plan for them to take charge of security, to take charge of Tikrit after this attack is over and ISIS is gone, then the effects of it, they may win the battle, but they will lose the overall fight, because that vacuum will still exist where the Sunnis will turn to ISIS for protection and from this oppression.

BLITZER: A lot of U.S. analysts, I have been speaking to them, deeply concerned. Qassem Suleimani, he's the leader, the Iranian leader of the Quds brigade, he is supposedly there leading the Shiite militias in this fight against ISIS.

And the concern is, yes, these Shiite militias may win, may help the Iraqi military, which is largely Shia as well, but in the long-term Iran is going to be the big winner in Iraq.

GABBARD: And this is why I have spoken about this a number of times. This is why it's so critical for there to be some sort of three-state solution, three-state configuration, where you have the Kurds empowered, you have the Sunnis empowered and the Shias empowered, with each of their own three spaces, because until that happens, you are going to continue to see this failed policy.

It started with President Bush, it continues today, where you have this Iran-influenced Shia government that's oppressing the Sunnis. And the only one that benefits from this is ISIS.

BLITZER: Yes. Vice President Joe Biden, when he was in the Senate, he was one of those suggesting maybe it's time to sort of split up Iraq, which was an artificial creation. He had suggested into an independent Kurdistan and independent Sunni area and an independent Shiite area, as well, given the fact they can't apparently work together.

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