FOX News Interview - Transcript
Interview
FOX News Interview - Transcript
FOX NEWS CHANNEL INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI)
SUBJECTS: HILLARY CLINTON AND ROBERT GATES INTERVIEWER: JON SCOTT
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MR. SCOTT: So what does her appointment mean for U.S. foreign policy? Let's talk about it from the Russell Rotunda, Democratic Senator Jack Reed. He's a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. He also traveled to Iraq with President-elect Obama in July.
Senator Reed, she obviously won't be the Secretary of State until she is confirmed, but that's not going to be a problem with the Senate.
Tell us what she brings to the table and why, senator, I'm sorry, President-elect Obama's opinions of her seem to have changed from the time they were competing until now.
SEN. REED: Well, Hillary brings an extraordinary breadth of experience. She is internationally known. She is someone who combines both a sincere and a thoughtful approach to multilateral diplomacy together with experience on the Armed Services Committee about military power. So she is a formidable personality and one, I think, is going to do a remarkably good job as Secretary of State and I think what happened over the course of the campaign is both President-elect Obama and Senator Clinton began to appreciate the talent and the insights and the strength of both of them mutually and I think, now, there's a recognition that she can make a significant contribution to the country and I believe she will.
MR. SCOTT: But you've heard the carping primarily from the left. Barack Obama campaigned hard on the fact that he had the judgment to, you know, battle to speak out against the Iraq war from day one. Hillary Clinton voted for it.
What does that suggest about how well they're going to work together as a team?
SEN. REED: Well, it's quite clear to both the President-elect and Senator Clinton that there's one president and that will be on January 20th, Barack Obama. I've seen Senator Obama be very, very blunt, but polite in sticking to his guns in very difficult circumstances in overseas travels. I think it's clear that he is going to set, not only the agenda, but the tone and I think Senator Clinton understands that and is prepared to serve creatively and constructively and to be asked hard questions, but ultimately the decisions will be made, finally, by the president.
MR. SCOTT: Well, let's talk about the defense secretary. A couple of months ago, Robert Gates said, quote, "It would be hard to imagine the circumstances" in which he would stay on at his job. Well, lo and behold, he's going to be staying on.
What do you think about that choice?
SEN. REED: Bob Gates is a patriot. He left a job he loved at Texas A&M as the president to come to Washington at a time of great difficulty two years ago and I think, again, at this moment where there's significant challenges around the world, he once again rallied to the call of his country and he's going to serve again.
I think he's going to do a remarkably good job. He's a very decent, thoughtful person. I think he'll work well with the others on the team. He is someone who is more pragmatic than ideological. All of this will be, I think, a very significant contribution, not just to the Department of Defense, but the overall national security policy of the country.
MR. SCOTT: But again, Barack Obama campaigned on a platform of getting U.S. forces out of Iraq in 16 months. The Status of Forces Agreement suggests it's going to be quite a bit longer than that and Bob Gates has had quite a hand in determining the timeline here, hasn't he?
SEN. REED: Well, when Secretary Gates came on board, the surge was fait accompli. The troops are going at the request of President Bush and I think throughout his tenure, he's been very careful not to speak too definitively about timelines, but to ask for flexibility. The reality is that Senator Obama called for on the campaign a withdrawal of 16 month of combat forces, but with the recognition that residual forces will stay behind. This Status of Forces agreement actually, in some respects, it's much more conclusive, all forces will be out by 2011. But I think both gentlemen understand that the direction in Iraq is redeploying our forces out and, indeed, both of them, I think, sense that more forces, more resources certainly have to be devoted to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
MR. SCOTT: Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island. It's good to have you on. Thanks.
END.
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