Transcript for July 30

MR. FRIEDMAN: You know, these are people who, who hate others more than they love their own kids, more than they love their own future. And that’s crazy, and that’s part of the pathology of that part of the world. But one thing I know for sure, you know, what we’re doing right now, what Israel’s doing right now—smashing things in Gaza again, smashing things in Lebanon—I understand it. I understand the anger and the rage. You’re minding your own business, and one day these guys, you know, come across the border. But it’s not working. It’s just not working. You know, Israel destroyed the PLO, and it got Hamas. Now it’s destroying Hamas, and it’s going to get chaos. And you can’t repeat the same thing in Lebanon. And the role of America is to be the guiding light there, not to fly air cover so more of this violence can continue indefinitely. If I thought it was going to work, I, I’d feel different. It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work for them, and it’s not going to work for us, and it’s not going to work for Lebanon or the Palestinians. We’ve got to find another way.

And you know, part of just showing up, Tim, you know, why did I go to Syria?  I haven’t been to Syria in a long time. But, you know, listening. If I found one thing as a reporter—worked in the Arab world for 25 years, as a Jewish-American reporter—here’s what I found. I found that listening is a sign of respect. You know, if you just go over and listen to people, and what they have to say, it’s amazing what they’ll allow you to say back. But when you just say, “We’re not going to go to Damascus, we’re not going to listen to the Syrians,” we—you’re never going to get anywhere that way. I’m not guaranteeing you you’re going to get somewhere the other way, but all I know, you sure increase the odds if you sit down and just listen.

MR. RUSSERT: Tom Friedman, we thank you for joining us, and your report on your trip. “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” and also “The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21^st Century,” which is now out as well. Thank you for joining us.

MR. FRIEDMAN: Great pleasure, thanks, Tim.

MR. RUSSERT: And we’ll be right back.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT: Here is NBC’s Brian Williams with a preview of what’s coming up on Monday’s “NBC Nightly News.”

MR. BRIAN WILLIAMS: Tim, it’s an emotional topic right now, politically dicey, but increasing talk in this country and elsewhere that Israel just might have made a big mistake. We’ll look at that; we’ll look at the man in charge. Some of the reporting we are preparing for tomorrow night’s “NBC Nightly News.” We’ll look for you then. Tim, for now, back to you.

MR. RUSSERT: Thank you, Brian Williams.

That’s all for today. We’ll be back next week. If it’s Sunday, it’s MEET THE PRESS.

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