FOX News Channel Interview - Transcript

Interview

FOX News Channel Interview - Transcript

MS. KELLY: Well, our top story this half hour a Republican lawmaker slamming President Bush's policy on Iran. In a recent speech, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel called on the president to have, quote, "direct, unconditional and comprehensive talks with Iran immediately." Senator Hagel also urging the Bush administration not to follow the same path with Iran that it did with Iraq. The senator joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Senator Hagel, thanks so much for being here with us.

SEN. HAGEL: Thank you.

MS. KELLY: So this is going to sound pretty controversial to a lot of folks to have direct and, more importantly, unconditional talks with Iran, something President Bush has steadfastly refused to do. What's the justification in your mind for doing that?

SEN. HAGEL: Well, let's look at where we are in the Middle East, specifically with Iran. We've got probably the most dangerous combustible, complicated problem in that region we've ever had. Our current policies are not working. How are things getting better? They're getting worse. We're not talking to Iran. They are a state sponsor of terrorism. That isn't going to get better. We've essentially got three options here. We can continue to stumble along, bumble along with what we're doing and it only gets worse, or we could engage in direct conversation with them to try to find some common denominator, always with the military option out there, or the third, we just go to war again. We're already in two wars. We've got Pakistan ready to blow up. We've got Georgia ready to blow up. Two nuclear powers in that area. Afghanistan is not making good progress. We've got to be more creative and forceful bringing together an alliance of common interests and common denominators.

Great powers engage. Great powers are not afraid. Diplomacy is about talking. Diplomacy is about engaging. We don't have to give up any of sovereignty.

MS. KELLY: But Senator, let me challenge you on that because you know the argument on the other side is how do you reason with a nut case like Ahmadinejad? This is not somebody who will come to the bargaining table in good faith and with rational thought. The only thing he understands, the other side says, is the six that we need to hold over his head telling him to denuclearize before we can talk to him about diplomacy.

SEN. HAGEL: Well, it's certainly easy to inventory all those issues that you have just said and noted and mentioned, but the real issue, which most people, including the administration, do not work toward, and that is how do you resolve it? Yes, Ahmadinejad has said some crazy things, but the fact is, we really don't know what's going on in Iran. We do know, for example, there is conflict today in Iran. There are differences of opinion in Iran. We do know that the president of Iran does not have all the power in Iran.

But if we continue to let this drift in a very dangerous way like we're doing now, we'll end up in a cul-de-sac of war. We'll have no option with the bellicose threats and the talk of war. The president of the United States suggesting World War III two weeks ago -- is that really where we want to go? We've always got a military option. Diplomacy is about reaching out --

MS. KELLY: But what about --

SEN. HAGEL: -- is bringing alliances together.

MS. KELLY: What about this other option of increasing the sanctions on Iran, which many say have been working? Iran's inflation is at an all-time high. People are paying through the nose over there for regular goods that they need to survive, and there is analysis that suggests they're holding this against Ahmadinejad and it could lead to regime change. What about the argument that our current policy on sanctions is the way to go, not start bargaining with Ahmadinejad?

SEN. HAGEL: Well, you're not bargaining with Ahmadinejad. You're sitting down and exchanging. You should continue, I believe, and I said this in my speech, the current multilateral sanctions that we have in place, working with our alliance, working with the United Nations, working with the European Union.

Unilateral sanctions never work. They won't work. And all the more reason to start to contain Iran, just as we did and have done with North Korea. That's working. Why? Because we engaged North Korea. We took common interests of the region and the powers in the region. And if we don't do that and take advantage and capitalize on what's going on now, we'll find ourselves drifting into a very dangerous sea where a military option then is the only option.

MS. KELLY: Understood.

SEN. HAGEL: I don't believe America wants to go to war again.

MS. KELLY: Yeah. Well, I think probably everyone can agree on that one, at least, at least that point.

Senator Chuck Hagel, we appreciate you being here. Thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. HAGEL: Thank you very much.

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