Clinton: We must get back to thinking

President Musharraf's remarks
OLBERMANN: Two last questions, one pertaining to the news of the day.  President Musharraf, who’s here, said something extraordinary, I thought, on Wednesday, that you can’t fight extremism with weapons.  You fight terrorists with weapons, but the extremism must be fought in a battle of hearts and minds.

FREE VIDEO Clinton on Pakistan Sept. 22: “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann talks to former President Bill Clinton about Pakistan President Musharraf’s comments on being coerced to help the U.S. Countdown

And now we have this story quoting him in a book that he was pushed, bullied, threatened, verbally spanked in the days after 9/11 to cooperate or else.  The White House has denied that.  Mr. Armitage has denied that.

Is it possible that we were in a position where we had to verbally coerce people into helping us under those circumstances, do you think?

CLINTON:  Well, for one thing, I think we have to take the White House and Mr. Armitage at their word, especially if President Musharraf is more or less saying the same thing.

There is no question that he was asked in the strongest possible terms to support us after 9/11 or that we needed him.

There is no question that his support for the West in the fight against terror, including what went on in Afghanistan, has cost him dearly with some elements in Pakistan.  He’s, after all, had to survive two assassination attempts.

You do have the Taliban hanging around in Waziristan over the Afghan border and then trying to get back into Afghanistan.  You do have, as far as we know, Mr. Bin Laden and Dr. al-Zawahiri hiding in the caves over there. 

So it wouldn’t surprise me if there were some strong words, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the book hadn’t overwritten them.  But the main thing is I think President Musharraf has now made a choice to help us, but the question is can we find a formula by which we can save Afghanistan, not let the Taliban make these inroads, stop this increase in poppy production, increase the hunt for Bin Laden, all the things that the war on terror needs, and do it in a way that strengthens Musharraf’s hands in Pakistan instead of undermines them.

It’s a difficult thing.  You know, it sounds a little raw, the stuff in that book.  I don’t know.  But I think that we should be glad that he has been with us, more or less, in the war on terror, but we should recognize that it’s much harder for him than it is for us to be uncompromising against the Taliban, uncompromising against Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, and we ought to just keep working for the best until we win.

Hillary in 2008?
OLBERMANN:  All right, well, there’s one last one.  Two years and six weeks or so from now, we have a presidential election, 2008.  You got anybody in that race, anybody you like, anybody at all?

FREE VIDEO Hillary in 2008? Sept. 22: "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann asks former President Bill Clinton if we could see another President Clinton in 2008. Countdown

CLINTON:  Not yet.  You know, Hillary’s running for reelection and everybody says, “Oh, well, she’s way ahead in the polls,” but in our family, we’ve always followed the rule that you shouldn’t look past the next election or you might not get past it.

And I think if she had decided to do or not to do, I would know, and I don’t, and I really don’t—I’m having a good time.  I went to the New York State Fair with her last week.  They dragged me out as a token redneck in election year.

But I don’t know if she’ll run.  I do believe she would be great in any position of public service, but I have no idea what she’s going to do.  I just want to her to get reelected and have her serve as a Senator from New York, ratified. 

She’s been very unusually effective all over the state in all kinds of ways, in creative economic ways that are totally almost unheard of for a senator, you know, creating these new economic alliances and things she’s done, and speaking out in great detail about climate change, about healthcare, about all these big challenges the country faces, working on the Armed Services Committee.

I’m proud of her, but what she’s going to do, I don’t know and I think I would know.  I think I would.

OLBERMANN:  You probably would have heard by now.

President Clinton, what a pleasure.  Thank you so much, sir.

CLINTON:  Thank you.  It’s good to see you.

OLBERMANN:  My pleasure.

CLINTON:  Thank you.

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