Chiraque Won't Call the White House
Reported by Eleanor - September 12, 2004 -
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace (Sept. 12, 5:00 p.m.) interviewed Richard Holbrooke about the Kerry approach to war and peace.
Wallace: What would Kerry do differently - is Afghanistan unfinished? Holbrooke: Without question.Osama bin Laden is not captured - al Qaeda is threatening to attack by the end of the year. Afghanistan is not in good shape. Eighteen candidates for election is not progress. Kerry voted to give authority to go after Sadam, but the president used that authority to go to war in Iraq, leaving Afghanistan.
Wallace showed a video clip with Kerry making statements about Iraq at different times - one with Dean saying Iraq was the wrong war, wrong place, wrong time. Holbrooke attempted to give a longer answer than Wallace wanted to the question about Kerry's support for taking out Sadam. Holbrooke wanted to talk about one-sided coverage, and Wallace wanted a "yes" or a "no" answer. Finally, Holbrooke said that giving authority is different than getting us into the mess in Iraq. Wallace: Is Iraq worse than Viet Nam? Holbrooke: Yes, it's worse. There is no exit strategy; no end in sight; three areas have liberated themselves from us; all sorts of people are trying to kill Americans.
Wallace compared the 1,000 dead to 50,000 dead in Viet Nam, then mentioned that Kerry wanted to spend whatever it takes in Iraq, and this week he criticized spending $200 billion for going it alone in Iraq. Does he still feel we should spend whatever it takes? Holbrooke said he respects the difference in the casualty rates, but the strategy and the policy are worse than Viet Nam. We can't walk down the street in Iraq, and everything the president said is not true. Of the $18 billion provided for Iraq, only $1 billion has been spent. There is no strategy for success or victory. If Bush gets a second term, we'll be in Iraq four years from today.
When asked about more International cooperation with the war, Wallace referenced a comment about the coalition being "coerced and bribed." Holbrooke said he doesn't question those who risk their lives, but there is no strategy. The Kerry strategy would be to sit down with reluctant allies and work out international ownership of this mess. Elections would take place under different political arrangements with more authority for the different groups. Wallace asked if those are empty promises, and Holbrooke replied that Chiraque won't call up the White House. (It takes diplomacy.)
Comment: This was a good contrast to the Powell interview, but Holbrooke could have been more forceful. It provided a better picture of the contrast between Kerry and Bush, in spite of the interruptions and hesitations.
