MTP Transcript for Feb. 11, 2007

MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: the Senate delays a vote on the troop increase in Iraq as the debate now shifts to the House. With us, the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and the House minority leader, Republican John Boehner of Ohio. The majority and minority leaders square off, only on MEET THE PRESS.

Then, a busy weekend in the race for the White House as Barack Obama officially enters the race, Hillary Clinton makes her first campaign trip to New Hampshire, and Rudy Giuliani addresses the California Republican Convention.

Then, the trial of Scooter Libby nears the end of its third week, as more journalists are expected to be called to testify. Insights and analysis from David Broder of The Washington Post, Gwen Ifill of PBS’ “Washington Week,” Howard Kurtz, media reporter for The Washington Post and host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” and Roger Simon of The Politico.

But first, the majority leader of the House, Congressman Steny Hoyer, and the minority leader of the House, Congressman John Boehner, are both here.

Gentlemen, welcome.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH): Pleasure.

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD): Hi, Tim. Good to be with you.

MR. RUSSERT: Congressman Hoyer, the debate on the war in Iraq now shifts to the House. Will there be a resolution offered by the Democrats disapproving of the president sending more troops to Iraq?

REP. HOYER: Yes, there will be, Tim. We’re going to do a very simple, straightforward, very clear resolution which says two things: We support the troops, we’re going to protect the troops. Secondly, we do not support the president’s escalation of troops in Iraq.

MR. RUSSERT: Why?

REP. HOYER: Because almost everybody disagrees that it will have the affect that the president has put forward, will not attain the objective of stabilizing or making more secure, and, as one Republican observed, what is simply going to—Oliver North, as a matter of fact—it’s not going to be more trainers, it’s going to be more troops who are targets. And we don’t believe that that policy will work. The overwhelming sentiment of the military is it won’t work, and certainly the American people do not believe it’ll work.

MR. RUSSERT: When will the vote be?

REP. HOYER: The vote will be probably Friday.

MR. RUSSERT: Now, on Thursday, you said this: “The Republicans will be given either a substitute or a motion to recommit so that they can propose whatever substantive alternative that they choose. That will also be debated.” Is that still your plan?

REP. HOYER: Not necessarily our plan, at this point in time, and let me tell you why. As we discussed this, we saw the problems that the Senate was confronted with, where the whereas clauses and the therefore clauses confused the issue. We believe the American public want a straightforward answer to the question: Do you agree with the president’s proposal. Republican president has made a proposal, we’re going to respond to that. We want to respond to it with great clarity, so that the Congress of the United States, every member, will have an opportunity to speak, every member will have an opportunity to vote: Do you support the escalation of troops in Iraq? And we’re going to make that pretty straightforward, and we don’t think that it ought to be confused by any other issues that might be raised. Those issues will have an opportunity to be raised, of course, in, in the very near term, as we consider the supplemental appropriation bill, the appropriation bill and the defense authorization bill.

MR. RUSSERT: But on this particular resolution, you are backing off your commitment to allow the Republicans to have an alternative?

REP. HOYER: We want a very straightforward, clear answer to the question: Do you support the president’s escalation?

MR. RUSSERT: Congressman Boehner, will you support the resolution?

REP. BOEHNER: I will not. I believe that victory in Iraq is the only option. We’ve had problems in Iraq, we’ve had mistakes in Iraq, but Iraq is but a small part in a global war being waged by radical Islamic terrorists. It’s all over the world, and it’s a global movement. And the most visible part of it today we see in Iraq and in Afghanistan. And if we don’t—if we don’t have victory in Iraq, the consequences of failure are immense: a destabilized Iraq, a safe haven for terrorists, possible access to their oil revenue, destabilizing the greater Middle East. What happens to Israel? And if, if this isn’t bad enough, who doesn’t believe that if we withdraw and leave that chaos in the Middle East that the terrorists won’t follow us here to the United States? Victory, victory is the only option.

MR. RUSSERT: Now, you said last week, “I think it will be rather clear in the next 60 to 90 days as to whether this plan is going to work.” If, after 90 days, Baghdad is not stabilized, will you then say it hasn’t worked, let’s start coming home?

REP. BOEHNER: Well, General Petraeus, in his Senate confirmation, said that we probably would know by late summer how well the plan is working. It’s one of the reasons why we want to offer a resolution that makes it clear that we ought to have a bipartisan panel overseeing this plan, and we outline a series of benchmarks to see how well we’re doing. This plan is, is heavily dependent on the Iraqis stepping up and taking more responsibility for their own country. And I think that having these benchmarks and being able to follow the progress is very important.

MR. RUSSERT: But it has—if it hasn’t worked in 90 days, will you then go to the president and say it hasn’t worked?

REP. BOEHNER: I, I would, I would say over the next 60 to 90 days we’ll have some idea how well we’re meeting those benchmarks, the progress towards them. But General Petraeus is, is, is the commander on the ground. He’s the one who says by the end of the summer we ought to have a clear idea how well it’s working.

REP. HOYER: Tim, for four years we’ve been saying—frankly since May 1, 2003, when the president said, “The mission is accomplished.” Since that time we’ve been saying next month it’s going to get better, the next six months it’s going to get better, the next year it’s going to get better. In fact, as you know, the last three months have been three of the worst months that we’ve had in Iraq in terms of loss of our own people and loss of Iraqis. In fact, the situation—and almost every general who’s been on the ground who talks about this and our men and women in the armed forces are saying the situation is not getting better, it’s getting worse. Our people are greater targets than they have been, and it’s time for a new policy. This isn’t a new policy. The Iraq Study Group made its report. The American public voted for a new direction in November. They said we need to change policies that aren’t working. This is not a new policy. Hagel—Senator Hagel said this is not a new policy. John McCain says he doesn’t think this is going to work. We’re going to make a clear statement next week that we do not support this escalation. And we’ve written a, a number of letters, four letters, to the president of the United States saying we need a change of policy, a change our mission from being on the front line to being trainers, redeploy our troops, make sure that the Iraqis pursue their responsibilities and pursue reconciliation, and have a...

REP. BOEHNER: That, that...

REP. HOYER: ...and have a diplomatic surge, not a troop surge.

REP. BOEHNER: Yeah, but Steny, that’s exactly what the president’s plan is. You outlined what you, what you just did in a speech over at Brookings last month.

REP. HOYER: Correct.

REP. BOEHNER: And if you look at what this plan is, it’s not just a reinforcement of troops, it requires the Iraqis to put their military on the front line. It has social barometers, economic barometers. There, there, there’s a—there’s a wide plan, exactly how you’ve described it. But if you don’t like the president’s plan, Steny, what is your plan for success?

REP. HOYER: John, the—that’s the good news. We’ve had 52 hearings in the last five weeks in the Senate and in the House. We went from a complacent House of Representatives that really gave no oversight to this war to a vigorous oversight of the policies that are being proposed and that have been affected. And what, John, we’re going to do is, we’re going, in the next 60 days that you talk about on the supplemental, on the authorization bill, on, on the appropriation bill, we’re going to make recommendations. And those recommendations will be focused on success. We don’t want to fail. President said in the State of the Union nobody voted for failure. I voted to authorize the president to take this action. I certainly didn’t vote for failure.

But, Tim, unfortunately, the policies that are—been pursued by Rumsfeld, by Wolfowitz, by Bremer, by the president have failed and, in fact, have been predictors of failure.

MR. RUSSERT: How many...

REP. BOEHNER: But, but, but, Steny, Democrats have no plan for success in Iraq. And let’s be—and let’s be...

REP. HOYER: Now, you say that—you say that following our plan, John.

REP. BOEHNER: Let’s be honest about it. What we’re going to do this week is the first step in your effort to cut off funds for troops in harm’s way and leave Iraq in chaos. And that’s why...

REP. HOYER: No, our resolution does not say anything about cutting off funds, John.

REP. BOEHNER: Well, no, no. No, all the—you, you...

REP. HOYER: We’re not going to cut off funds.

REP. BOEHNER: ...and the speaker, Murtha, and others have said, “Well, this is just a first step this coming week.”

REP. HOYER: You didn’t...

REP. BOEHNER: We all know—we all know what’s coming in the next month or so when we have the supplemental spending bill up.

MR. RUSSERT: All right, let me get to that. But before I do, Congressman Hoyer, how many Democrats will vote for this resolution of disapproval?

REP. HOYER: I think almost every Democrat will vote for this resolution.

MR. RUSSERT: And how many Republicans?

REP. HOYER: You’d have to ask John. He perhaps counts better than I do on his side.

MR. RUSSERT: How many Republicans, how many...

REP. BOEHNER: We’re going to—we’re going to have Republicans who are skeptical of this plan who’ll probably vote for this.

MR. RUSSERT: How many?

REP. BOEHNER: But—and while...

MR. RUSSERT: How many?

REP. BOEHNER: While we may lose the vote on this, we’re—we will not lose the debate on this.

MR. RUSSERT: Well, will you lose a third of the Republicans?

REP. BOEHNER: I don’t think we’ll lose that many.

MR. RUSSERT: Ten percent?

REP. BOEHNER: I don’t run the numbers.

REP. HOYER: Tim, let me say, we have...

MR. RUSSERT: Wait a minute. Congressman Boehner, you had said...

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