Mon Apr 7, 6:35 AM Pacific
February 2005: Clinton and McCain, BFFs in Iraq
This is the kind of thing you can easily forget in the middle of a campaign:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, and Sen. John McCain were part of a five-member congressional delegation visiting Iraq. Faleh Kheiber, AP
Clinton says insurgency is failing
BAGHDAD (AP) — As 55 people died in Iraq on Saturday, the holiest day on the Shiite Muslim religious calendar, Sen. Hillary Clinton said that much of Iraq was "functioning quite well" and that the rash of suicide attacks was a sign that the insurgency was failing.
Clinton, a New York Democrat, said insurgents intent on destabilizing the country had failed to disrupt Iraq's landmark Jan. 30 elections.
"The concerted effort to disrupt the elections was an abject failure. Not one polling place was shut down or overrun," Clinton told reporters inside the U.S.-protected Green Zone, a sprawling complex of sandbagged buildings surrounded by blast walls and tanks. The zone is home to the Iraqi government and the U.S. Embassy.
When they returned from Iraq, Clinton and McCain made a joint appearance on Meet the Press. I've included the Iraq-related questions put to Clinton after the jump. (Sorry, no video!)
MR. RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, how would you describe the scope of the insurgency?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, Tim, this is an issue that Senator McCain and the rest of the delegation and I have been probing because it is something that concerns us. When I was here last at the end of 2003, at least with respect to Baghdad, I was not under as severe security restrictions as we are at this time. So obviously, the number of attacks average about 50 a day, we're told. But there are parts of the country that are fairly secure and stable. I think the important thing is to recognize that the Iraqi security forces are now more engaged, and have to be, and the new Iraqi government, as it takes hold, will assume greater and greater responsibility for dealing with the insurgency. So we are watching this and trying to gather as much information as possible, but it's really now going to be largely up to the Iraqi people and their new government to determine how effective this insurgency is in the future.
MR. RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, what should the American people know about the number of American troops that will have to remain in Iraq for a considerable period of time?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, Tim, we have just finished meeting with the current prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the finance minister, and in our meetings, we posed the question to each of them as to whether they believed that we should set a firm deadline for the withdrawal of American troops. To a person, and they are of different political parties in this election, but each of them said that would be a big mistake, that we needed to make clear that there is a transition now going on to the Iraqi government. When it is formed, which we hope will be shortly, it will assume responsibility for much of the security, with the assistance and cooperation of the coalition forces, primarily U.S. forces.
So I think that what the American people need to know is, number one, we are very proud of our young men and women who are here, active duty, Guard and Reserve. We've seen many of them today, and we'll see more of them tomorrow. And so we all can be very grateful for their service and also very admiring of their sacrifice for other people's freedom. But secondly, we need to make sure that this new government in Iraq can succeed. There are lots of debates about, you know, whether we should have, how we should have, decisions that were made along the way with respect to our involvement here. But where we stand right now, there can be no doubt that it is not in America's interests for the Iraqi government, the experiment in freedom and democracy, to fail. So I hope that Americans understand that and that we will have as united a front as is possible in our country at this time to keep our troops safe, make sure they have everything they need and try to support this new Iraqi government.
MR. RUSSERT: Then you would disagree with any call for immediate withdrawal of some troops or a specific timetable?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, Tim, I understand the feelings behind that call. I mean, there is a lot of reason when we're back at home to argue about this policy. But at this point in time, I think that would be a mistake. I don't believe we should tie our hands or the hands of the new Iraqi government. Now obviously, as this government has stood up and takes responsibility, there may come a time when it decides for its own internal reasons that we should set such a deadline and withdrawal agenda. But right now I think it would be a mistake.
We don't want to send a signal to the insurgents, to the terrorists that we are going to be out of here at some, you know, date certain. I think that would be like a green light to go ahead and just bide your time. We want to send a message of solidarity. And in addition, I would hope that at this point now, we could get more international support. It is not in anyone's interests, not, you know, the people in this region, in Europe or elsewhere around the world, for the Iraqi government to be brought down before it even can get itself together by violent insurgents. So it's not only U.S. commitment, I think and hope that there should be commitment from others as well.
MR. RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, are you concerned that the new prime minister of Iraq, Mr. Jafari may, in fact, have strong connections with Iran, and what do we know about his background? Who is he?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, Tim, I think that there are grounds both for concern and for, you know, vigilance about this. But again, I am willing to look at the situation and, you know, not yet jump to any conclusions. First, it is a historical fact that he, along with the Dawa Party, have had connections with Iran. Now, part that was because, you know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and there was an effort in the opposition to Saddam Hussein to get support from anywhere you could. So naturally, given Saddam Hussein's attitude toward Iran and toward the Shias and the Kurds, people were looking for help and support. There are also family ties and religious ties.
However, there was a very strong message conveyed to us in our meetings, including by the finance minister who is part of the overall Islamic alliance, that they understand very well the need for them to be independent and they're striving to achieve that. It is like any nascent democracy. There are going to be bumps along the road. But I don't believe there is, by any means, a large body of opinion that wants to cede independence and control over Iraq's future to Iran.
Having said that, I think we have to watch this very closely. There are obviously areas of influence. There is a temptation on the part of the Iranians to try to fund, you know, their own interests on this side of the border. But there are some checks and balances in the law, and I hope that they will be embodied in whatever constitution goes forward. And the final thing that I would say is that we need a vigorous involvement by Sunnis and we need a vigorous involvement by other Shia who are not in any way connected with Iran as well as the very strong involvement of Kurds. So given the way this is playing out now, I think we should just withhold judgment as to what--who will emerge and what that will mean.
Source: Meet the Press, February 20, 2005.
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