The Situation Room-Transcript

The Situation Room-Transcript

BLITZER: We'll see what happens.

Thanks very much for that. Good report, John Roberts.

Key Democrats suggest the president's new strategy is simply too little, too late. And they say that two months ago, voters demanded dramatic change and an end to the war. The Democrats worry that the president's new plan represents what they call an escalation of the war.

Joining us now from Capitol Hill, Democratic senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. He's a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Senator, thanks very much for coming in.

SEN. JACK REED (D), RHODE ISLAND: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Why not give the president at this point the benefit of the doubt and let him see if this new strategy actually works?

REED: Well, this is not a really a new strategy. It's just more of the old strategy, trying to take a military approach, primarily, to what is a fundamentally political problem which the Iraqis must solve. And the key ingredients to that solution are providing competent government, which they haven't done yet, for their own people; providing resources, their own resources to help their economy; but most particularly, going after all of the militias, not just the Sunni insurgents, but also the Shia militias. And Maliki and his government have done very little of that, even although they've said many times they would do it.

BLITZER: But he says he's got a firm commitment now from the Iraqi government, from the prime minister, to do what they have that you correctly point out they refused to do in the past. Is it too late to give the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, another chance?

REED: Well, I think it really is too late because, frankly, I think the political dynamic in Baghdad today is that the Shia government feels that they're winning. They're accomplishing their objectives, they're marginalizing the Sunnis, they're entrenching themselves so they'll never again fear a Sunni leadership dominating them.

That's an awful tough dynamic to change. And I think Maliki, with his best intentions, would be very challenged to change it.

One hopes he does that. But I think, again, the president has rested so much of what he wanted to do in Iraq on hopes, not on reality and not on good strategy.

BLITZER: This is a plan, this additional increase in the number of troops, that's not going to be cheap. The numbers coming out of the White House, total cost for this new Bush proposal, $6.8 billion, of which $5.6 billion is to pay for the troop increase, $1.2 billion for an aid package, including a jobs program for Iraqis.

What are you going to do about this money? Are you going to try to block it?

REED: Well, I think, first, what we're going to do, Wolf, is debate this whole new policy. It's not much of a new policy, but certainly debate it. And then I think we will vote next week up or down on a resolution of whether or not this Senate and the House, also, will favor this policy.

I think after that, we might be able to create a new dynamic, particularly if Democrats and Republicans alike are skeptical and oppose the policy. And then I think we have to look closely at the spending. But at this juncture, to sort of arbitrarily and categorically talk about what we're going to fund and we're not going to fund, I think is putting the cart before the horse.

BLITZER: Those are symbolic votes you're going to have in the House and the Senate. A sense of the Senate resolution, a sense of the House resolution. They send a political message to the White House, but they aren't binding.

REED: Well, they're not binding, but that political message, coupled with, I think, an adverse reaction by the American public, should, I think, get the president thinking again about a better strategy. A strategy that's not just more military, but talks about different missions that are more central to our national security.

And also, beginning to do what I think ultimately has to be done, is some type of phased, careful redeployment. Until he does that -- and by the way, that was the bulk, I think, of the suggestions to the Iraqi Study Group -- I don't think the American public is going to be convinced -- and they're more important than D-R votes -- about his credibility and his capability of leading this country in Iraq.

BLITZER: The president insists failure is not an option. What would you -- you have been to Iraq several times, you're a respected voice when it comes to military matters, national security -- what do you want him to do to make sure that Iraq doesn't simply collapse into all-out -- even more civil war than may already be the case, and that Iran doesn't emerge as the principal player in that part of the world?

REED: Well, there are residual missions for American military forces.

First, I think he properly should be concerned about maintaining and enhancing the capability of the Iraqis, their security forces, to defend their country and to support their government.

Second, we have an ongoing mission to go after wherever they are al Qaeda elements.

And then third, I think we also have to be prepared through deterrents to prevent any type of exploitation of the situation by the neighbors of Iraq in the region. That can be done by redeploying first within the country, and also from continuing our countries in the Gulf region. That is, I think, a more sensible approach that minimizes the consequences of what today has been, I think, a flawed strategy, extremely poorly executed.

BLITZER: If you had your way, how long would it take to get U.S. forces, about 130,000, 140,000 there right now out of Iraq out?

REED: Well, I think the key benchmark are the combat brigades. Those units that are tasked with fighting the insurgents.

I would hope that within four to six months, we could begin to pull those brigades out, redeploy them out of certainly the contested areas. Maybe even into Kuwait.

There will be a long-term need to train the Iraqi security forces, but that mission of training, of equipping, and of getting up to capability the Iraqi security forces is probably an ongoing one. But it's one that's much more, I think, central to what our proper role is in Iraq.

BLITZER: Senator Jack Reed, thanks very much.

REED: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Also, congratulations to you and your wife, a little baby girl, Emily. Right?

REED: That's correct. Thank you.

BLITZER: A proud papa, indeed.

REED: Thank you.

BLITZER: Good work on that front as well.

Senator Reed, thank you.

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