Transcript for Sept. 17

SEN. ALLEN: I’m sorry...

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Allen, let me, let me just show you The Washington Times op-ed piece that you wrote in January of ‘05, and here’s the headline:

“Stay the course.” What does that mean? How do you define victory in Iraq, and can it be won militarily?

SEN. ALLEN: Military and security aspects of it are absolutely essential.  The people of Iraq have voted—last year three times, 70 percent turnout, walking like slow-moving targets to vote. And they do want a free and just society there, a country that does have respect for, for...

MR. RUSSERT: But what is staying the course?

SEN. ALLEN: Stay, staying the course is meaning that we don’t tuck tail and run, that we don’t retreat, that we don’t surrender. This is a central battle front in the war on terror, and it’s not just the president or the vice president or me saying that, that’s what al-Qaeda says, because al-Qaeda’s designs and their goals are to have a caliphate, Islamic caliphate from, from Indonesia to Spain, with the capital being in Iraq, an oil-rich area. And we cannot allow Iraq, which—where al-Qaeda was and is now, we cannot allow them...

MR. RUSSERT: Now, let me, let me show you, let me show, let me...

SEN. ALLEN: ...to have that haven for terrorist activity.

MR. RUSSERT: Let, let me show you a map of Iraq, and there on the west is Anbar Province. And this is what the Marine Corps has said about Anbar Province. “The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq recently filed an unusual secret report concluding that the prospects for securing that country’s western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation there, said several military officers and intelligence officials familiar with its contents.” That’s the military talking. What do we do? Do we seek a, seek a diplomatic solution, or stay the course militarily for years and years and years?

SEN. ALLEN: Anbar was always difficult to govern. The focus now is on the Baghdad area. When I was over in Iraq back in June, whether they were Kurds, Sunni or Shiites, they were all very grateful to Americans for liberating them from Saddam’s tyrannical regime. They all also recognize that the key for the country is to make sure there is better security in the Baghdad, the central area. The northern part, the Kurdish area, is doing very well. Gosh, they’re even running advertisements for investment in the Kurdish area. They’re building homes, there’s a convention center. And the southern part, the Shiite part, is, is, is fairly stable, too. The key right now, the focus, the adjustments, the adaptations that have been made, is to focus on the Baghdad area.

MR. RUSSERT: Two supporters of the war, William Kristol of The Weekly Standard, Rich Lowry of the National Review, said, “We are at a crucial moment in Iraq. Supporters of the war, like us, have in the past differed over tactics. But at this urgent pass, there can be no doubt that we need to stop the downward slide in Iraq.”

TEXT:Reinforce Baghdad

We are at a crucial moment

in Iraq. Supporters of the

war, like us, have in the past differed

over tactics. But at this urgent pass,

there can be no doubt that we need

to stop the downward slide in Iraq

by securing Baghdad.

There is no mystery as to what can

make the crucial difference in the

battle of Baghdad: American troops. ...

We need substantially more troops

in Iraq. Sending them would be a

courageous act of presidential

leadership appropriate to

the crisis we face.

RUSSERT: They end, “We need substantially more troops in Iraq. Sending them would be a courageous act of presidential leadership appropriate to the crisis we face.” Would you be in favor of putting more troops in Iraq, more American troops?

SEN. ALLEN: We’re going to need to do what it takes to succeed. Because...

RUSSERT: Including more troops?

SEN. ALLEN: Because it’s so essential to the security of the United States of America. Moreover, that is actually happening right now. If you look at the troop levels in Iraq, they are higher than they were several months ago.  Moreover, they have been concentrated in the Baghdad area, so the troops are going to where they’re needed.

I would also point out, Tim, to you and, and fellow Americans, is that every single week you see more and more Iraqis and their military taking control.  And many of the—now it’s probably about a third of the military options are being—military operations—are being led by Iraqis with the U.S. in a supportive role. And as more and more Iraqis take over those military operations, it’ll be ultimately up to them, their backbone, their minds, and their hands to build that free and just society that is safe and an ally in the war on terror rather than, than an enemy.

RUSSERT: Mr. Webb, should we increase American troop levels in Iraq?

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