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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was host Tim Russert's guest on MTP. Russert complained that Walter Pincus knew that Iraq would decline into anarchy. Powell said that he would close Gitmo "this afternoon" and put its inmates into our general prison population. He said that it was "too early" to say if he would support the Republican Presidential nominee but that he was advising Barack Obama on foreign policy matters. He would not rule out returning to public service at some future date.

On FNS, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow predicted that we would see a "better bill" for immigration, one which addresses the opponents' concerns about "security" and "amnesty." In passing, he mentioned Iraq as a possible staging ground for the Missile Defense system.

Dick Durbin, on FNS, blamed Republicans for the failure of the immigration bill and did not deny that Hillary and Obama were using our troops as "political pawns" when discussing funding the troops.

On TW, John McCain accused opponents of the immigration bill of being "more conservative, anti-immigrant, anti-legislation" Republicans who were vocal beyond their strength because they were backed by the money of certain groups. McCain rejected the September deadline for the surge to be effective, and Steph claimed that Mitch McConnell spoke of such a date. McCain complained that those who talk this way have no plan of their own.

On FTN, Tony Snow said that we are not done with the immigration bill, and that it will take a few days debate to get some of the "key components" passed. Then Joe Lieberman advocated a military strike on Iran, probably from the air, if they do "play by the rules." They have a base, he reported, where they train Iranians to cross into Iraq to kill Americans.

On LE, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez stressed that the immigration bill was really a "national security" bill and that it had to pass for the good of the country. Senator Jon Kyl agreed in the next segment, but Senator Evan Bayh said that the President had to "lead" on this matter. Kyl predicted that it will pass by July 4th. Blitzer said Gates fired Pace. Bayh thought this was wonderful, as Pace was a holdover from the days of Rumsfeld and "less candor." Kyl expressed disappointment that the Administration would not defend a "good man."

Read on for the show-by-show review…

COLIN POWELL ON MTP. On MTP, General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, talked to host Tim Russert about what government could do for our children: health care, education, etc.

Russert talked about "something bleaker": the war in Iraq. Russert wanted to know if it were worth it. Powell replied that we won't know. He calls it a Civil War, he says, because it lets us see it more clearly. The military part of "The Surge," he said, is merely putting a cap on a boiling pot. The other two "legs" of the surge, he said, are political and Iraqi self-sufficiency.

Russert pointed out that Powell had predicted a troop drawdown in 2007. General Powell said that all the generals wanted to pull back, Baker-Hamilton wanted to pull back, but President decided to do things differently. He thinks the Iraqis should deal with their own civil war.

Powell said that al Qaeda was only a small part of the problem in this civil war.

Russert pointed out to Powell that the President had fired the SecDef and the generals, wasn't he admitting that the war was a mistake? Powell said that he supported the war at first, but he had wanted to avoid it. He said that we have handled the war since the fall of Baghdad, "ineffectively."

Powell said that if we knew then what we know now – no WMD – he'd have had nothing to take to the United Nations to make the case for war. Congress would have had nothing. Even though Hussein was a terrible person, he said, we'd have had no justification.

Russert asserted that the WashPost's Walter Pincus had proven that the President knew Iraq would fall apart after the fall of Baghdad, had seen a CIA report. Powell said that those who had experience in that part of the world and those who had experience in war had warned the President about this, and he did not prepare us well enough for it.

Russert complained that the public had not been warned of what was in that CIA report, that the outcome of the war would be anarchy. Powell explained that "we were liberators for a moment," but we did not handle the aftermath. ("We didn't have enough troops on the ground. That's my judgment, not the generals at the time.")

Russert played a tape of Powell's assertion before the U.N. that his presentation was solid. Russert asked if he were lying when he said that, and Powell explained that he had gone over everything for five days and it was believed by George Tenet and many people.

Powell pointed out that the evidence he presented had been available to Congress since the previous fall, but many of them are now saying that they have not looked at it. "We believed it, our military believed it, other governments believed it."

He asked if, when the smoke cleared, could anyone believe that Saddam would not go back to building his weapons?

Tim Russert asked Colin Powell about aluminum tubes. He asks everyone about aluminum tubes. I, personally, want some aluminum tubes.

Tim Russert asked him about the Mobile Labs, which turned out not to have existed. Powell explained that we thought Saddam had Mobile Labs. He never saw that "burn notices" – warnings not to trust specific sources – never made it to the proper levels.

Tim Russert said we went to war on this rationale. Colin Powell corrected him. He said that we went to war because Saddam's was a terrible regime, it would use WMD, and the intelligence community believed that he had a stockpile. The real and present danger of WMD was the main case, in his judgment.

Russert asked Powell why President Bush hadn't demanded to know why the info was bad. Powell explained that there are quite a few ongoing investigations.

Powell said that if we had put a half-million troops on the ground, we've had a "different situation," WMD or not. He explained that everyone believed Saddam had WMD, people had looked, and it was determined that we were wrong.

Secretary Powell said that Saddam had put us on the road to war by not coming clean with the U.N. Powell said he had warned the President that Saddam might cooperate and we would not have a war, and the President had acknowledged that.

Russert cited Powell's wife Alma as saying the Colin had been used. Powell himself doesn’t think he was, saying that he was part of an Administration trying to deal with a danger. He said that there can be "no doubt" that Saddam was hoping to have a chance to re-arm himself with WMD.

Russert asked Powell if a preemptive war were necessary, or was Saddam boxed by sanctions. Powell said he did not want a war, as he couldn't tell the outcome, but he was part of the team.

Russert asked Powell if he thought of resigning after he gave a false presentation to the U.N. Powell explained that sometimes intelligence is flawed.

Russert asked if we are safer now than we were four years ago. Powell answered that we had secured the country better against 9-11 style attacks, and we have better relations with many part of the world. With the Mideast, he said, we have to talk to all of Iraq's neighbors and have a dialogue.

Russert asked Powell about Gitmo. Powell explained that it had become "a major problem" for America's perception around the world. If he had a choice, he'd close Gitmo now and put the inmates into the American prison system. He called it "more equitable" and more Constitutional.

Russert said that because all of NATO but Portugal and us let gays in the military, is it time for us to toss "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" aside? Powell explained that gays should have access to all aspects of society, but the military is different. They have to have a "different set of rules." The country is changing, he said, and we may eventually move to the point of allowing gays in the military.

Powell said that Barack Obama has come to him for foreign policy advice. Powell said that he would not rule out coming back into public life. He said that it was "too early" to endorse a candidate for the Presidency. Russert asked if he would support the Republican. Powell answered: "Too early."

TONY SNOW ON FNS. Chemo treatments every Friday make him "woozy" for a day, but White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told FOX News Sunday host Chris Wallace: "I'm doing fine."

Snow promised that the White House is not leaving the immigration issue. He promised a "better bill," one which improves the bill on "security" and "amnesty," meeting the concerns of its opponents. He did point out, however, that the recently deceased bill had been the largest effort ever on border security.

On Monday, the Senate will vote their opinions on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a resolution offered by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuckie Schumer. Wallace wondered that if a number of Republican Senators voted no confidence in AGAG, would it soften the President's advocacy of the attorney general. "Not at all," replied Snow. Senate Democrats are wasting time, he said, "burning of a day, expressing their opinions."

Wallace asked Snow if the Senate Democrats hadn't been given a "de facto veto" over the renomination of Peter Pace to the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Snow quipped that Harry Reid's approval rating was something like 19%. Pace is not being renominated, he said, because the President wanted to avoid the acrimony, the fight involved: "We have to move forward to victory."

Contemplating the Russian rancor over the Missile Defense shield, Snow reminded that it would not actually be deployed "for a while." He pointed out that the "Cold War" between the U.S. and Russia, about which the media have prattled of late, never materialized. As for where it will be deployed, Snow said they'll look at the Russian-proposed site in Azerbaijan, while others have suggested Iraq as a possible site.

DICK DURBIN ON FNS. Host Wallace next spoke to famed Nazi hunter Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois. Durbin blamed Republicans for the current troubles of the immigration bill, stated that the Senate GOP needed "leadership." He complained that a group of five Republican Senators were proposing amendment after amendment, non-stop, in an effort to kill the bill. It is up to the Republican leadership, he said, to put a stop to this practice.

Wallace asked Durbin about the "poison pill," the amendment by Byron Dorgan which would have sunsetted the guest worker program. Durbin doesn’t think this is a "poison pill," and he blamed "four or five" Republican Senators doing amendment after amendment, some of which, Durbin maintained, were "deal-killers."

Switching subjects, Wallace quoted Durbin as saying that our troops in the field should have the money they need and should not be used as "political bargaining chips." Wasn't this what Hillary and Obama were doing, Wallace asked. Durbin said that they didn't think so, but Wallace would have to ask them. He's spoken to Obama, his fellow Senator from Illinois, who thinks he has to "send a message" to the President.

About Peter Pace, Durbin complained that the White House will fight for Alberto Gonzales but not for Peter Pace. Wallace explained that Carl Levin had told the White House that Pace would have had a difficult time being again confirmed, and Levin said he probably would have voted for Pace. He said that Pace is a good man and Iraq was the President's fault, not his.

Wallace asked Durbin about the failure of the Democrat Congress to pass its promised agenda, what with only the minimum wage being passed. (He did not remind that this was cynically tacked-on to the war spending bill.) "Don't you run the risk," Wallace asked Durbin, "of being a do-nothing Congress?" Durbin doesn't think so. After all, it is difficult to get things through the Senate. They've had only for months so far, Durbin whined, and they're finally discussing Iraq. Durbin insisted that the Republican Congress never discussed Iraq.

(This Congress, it's safe to say, has done little but mouth off meaninglessly about Iraq and renamed buildings. There has been plenty of noise, but little apart from the political bluster. Durbin is a charlatan. Parenthetically.)

STEPH ON THE TRAIL WITH MCCAIN. ABC News' George Stephanopoulos dedicated his This Week program to a taped interview with John McCain. The Arizona Senator and Presidential candidate complained about the immigration bill being opposed by the "more conservative, anti-immigrant, anti-legislation" Republicans who were vocal beyond their strength because they were backed by the money of certain groups. He did not elaborate, and Steph did not ask.

Steph asked him about Rudy's opposition and that of Mitt Romney, and McCain pointed out that this was not consistent with their past statements. (He didn't use the term "flip-flopping," but the term is so popular in these contexts that it can almost be inferred.)

Steph asked the Senator of Newt Gingrich's recent comment that McCain has his Campaign Finance Bill and now his immigration stance working against him in the race for the Republican nomination and it will be that much more difficult for him to win. McCain said that this may be so. Steph asked McCain if he were "out-of-touch with" the Republican grassroots on the immigration issue. McCain allowed that this might be so, but he said that BCRA is an "inside-the-beltway" issue because some people lost their soft money. Others don't care about it, McCain insisted. He said that perhaps the grassroots don't like the immigration bill, but he "went there [Washington] to do the hard things. I went there to do something. The easiest thing for me to do is go there and say 'no' to things."

No it's not.

McCain said that we can have "no permanent bases" in Iraq, pointing out that it is an Islamic country, but we would have to have bases there for a while, though couldn't tell Steph for how long.

McCain said that he regrets that September was now being treated as a "magic moment" in the war, by which time progress had to be made "OR ELSE." He added that General David Petraeus shares his sentiment about this. Steph averred that Mitch McConnell had talked of the import of the September date, and McCain complained that those who do so have not articulated what strategy they prefer.

Wallace asked the Senator about the recent Washington Post piece regarding fundraiser John Dowd bolting McCain's camp for Fred Thompson. McCain pointed out that Dowd was only one person and that people will "shift back-and-forth" between campaigns for the next several months.

TONY SNOW ON FTN. Host Bob Schieffer opened this weeks edition of Face the Nation by talking to Tony Snow. In the studio. He said that the "entire Pentagon team that took us to war in Iraq" will be gone by this fall. Does this mean something new? Snow answered that instead of getting bogged down, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates thought it best to nominate Admiral Michael Mullen, and the President agreed. (There was no talk among newsmakers this Sunday praising or even defining Admiral Mullen.) Snow said that people mistakenly think Iraq is all about the military, and it isn't. There are other components, which is what we have been told.

Schieffer asked about a WashPost report about withdrawing troops. (Others stress that the meaningless piece talks of an extended presence for some troops.) Snow said that this would happen only based on conditions on the ground. Certain things need to happen with the Iraqis and with us, but "we do want to be in a position to be able to pull back."

Schieffer asked Snow how the war was going. Snow answered that it would go back and forth, and we still haven't fully deployed the surge. When it is fully deployed, "it will take a month or so" for them to be totally integrated into the neighborhoods.

Schieffer pointed out that the future War Czar, Lt. General Douglas Lute, had testified that the benchmarks would be impossible to meet. Snow said that there is "a lot of activity that has to take place on both sides."

Snow said that the Iraqis were cooperating.

Schieffer pointed out that immigration reform has been killed. "Are we done with that?" Snow said that we were not. He said that there are 60 votes for the key components of the plan, and he thinks that they'll wrap up debate in a day or two on a bill which will encompass what the President wants.

JOE LIEBERMAN ON FTN. Schieffer first asked Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) about General Pace, and Lieberman said that he was surprised that Bob Gates would run from a contentious hearings, but Gates has the right to his own chairman. The White House should have said that, Lieberman said, not making up some excuse about contentious hearings.

Lieberman said that Iraq was now the main front in the war against the Islamic terrorists who attacked us on 9-11, and "we have to see that larger context."

Schieffer asked Lieberman what the United States should do about Iran. Lieberman said that Iran was at war with us and with Israel. He's "not one to sit-down with the Iranians," but he said that it was useful for us to meet with them recently to present our evidence against them. We have to tell them to stop killing Americans in Iraq. Lieberman advocated a military strike across the border against Iran. "We have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers." He said we have to talk to our generals, but he can see the strike as coming largely from the air.

GUTIERREZ ON LATE EDITION. On CNN's Late Edition, host Wolf Blitzer opened with images of our President being treated as a rock star in Albania. Wolf turned to discuss the failed immigration bill with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who said: "This bill is alive and well, and we are more determined than ever to get it through… because this is the right thing for our country."

Wolf asked what the President would do personally, what with his being in Europe. Gutierrez said that the President has led, but the real question is: "What is the Senate going to do?" Gutierrez said that "this is an issue for leadership." It's about the big idea, he said, not the tweaking.

Wolf played a clip of Jeff Sessions saying that they need to start over from scratch. Gutierrez disagreed, adding that "this is a national security bill, and that's the word we've got to get out."

Gutierrez said that the system has to be in place so an employer can verify the status of an applicant and be punished if they do not follow the law. Wolf argued that this was already in place, but the Secretary said that this was not strong enough.

Wolf played a clip of Giuliani saying at the debate that the bill was a set of compromises, "a typical Washington mess." Gutierrez countered that the "unifying strategy" was national security. That's the new talking point. He said that "enforce existing law" is a nice bumper sticker, but the problem is "more complex" than that.

Wolf asked him about the Doran Amendment, reducing the number of guest workers. The Secretary said that "we'll have to see what the Senate passes." He said that if we don't have guest workers, we'll have more illegals. He said that "there is a reason" the number is 400,000 guest workers – though he did not specify what – and we shouldn't "tamper with it."

Gutierrez believes that if Harry Reid had allowed the debate to continue, the bill would have passed.

"This is going to go through, because this is the right time." He predicted that we will see "leaders emerge," people who know that it's not popular but is the right thing to do. After pointing out that it was a flip-flop from an earlier position, Blitzer played a clip of Mitt Romney talking harshly about the bill at the CNN debate. Gutierrez said that the important thing "is the big picture. Our country needs this."

Gutierrez praised Senators Kyl, McCain, and Kennedy.

WOLF TALKS TO KYL AND BAYH. Next on LE, host Wolf Blitzer spoke with Senators Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, and Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh. Kyl said that passage of the bill "is doable." All they must do, he said, was get the Republicans who want Amendments to agree to a time limit and get Harry Reid to go along with it. Bayh complained that they've debated it for two weeks. It is possible to pass it, he said, but they can't be "naïve about it."

Kyl said that his "Republican colleagues" have had enough time to push their amendments. He sees 60 votes "in the middle." Bayh agreed, "but it's going to take some hard work."

Kyl admitted that he's "taking a lot of grief" (Blitzer's words) in Arizona for this, but the bill is in their interests.

Wolf played a clip of Senator John Cornyn calling this bill a "magnet" for illegals. Bayh explained that there are "legitimate concerns about what happened in the '80s." First, he said, they need to "put in place the security measures," then they can start "bringing people out of the shadows."

Jon Kyl accused the creators of the '86 bill (IRCA) of "corroding" our society and "respect for the rule of law." Bayh agrees and said that the "President has to step up," but he's tied down with Iraq. Blitzer asked if the President still has the clout to bring Republicans behind him on this, and Kyl said he can with the right message.

Kyl said that the Senate has to do this even if it is unpopular, and he predicted that it would be done by the 4th of July. Bayh said that he was "less optimistic," but that the "President has to lead."

After a commercial break, Wolf started in on Iraq.

Wolf cited a WashPost story predicting a "Korea-like presence in Iraq for a long time." Bayh pointed out that the story predicts troop reduction and said that the Koreans want us there while the Iraqis want us out. Kyl said that the story was not worthwhile, was merely "idle speculation."

Blitzer played a clip of War Czar-designate Lt. General Doug Lute expressing frustration to a Congressional hearing. He asked Kyl if things were moving in the right or the wrong directions. Kyl explained that the surge had just been completed with the last brigade arriving. This will take time, he said, and we should not be "too quick to judge." Bayh finds Lute to be "refreshingly candid," adding that Secretary Gates was candid after Secretary Rumsfeld was not.

Bayh said that the Administration is "rewarding the non-behavior" of the Iraqi government. Blitzer said that the Iraqi people want us out and the Iraqi parliament might do what the people want and tell us to get out.

Blitzer suggested that Gates fired General Pace, and Bayh said that this was Gates' way of bringing in "more candid" people. Petraeus, he reminded, was a holdover from the "less than candid" Rumsfeld regime. Kyl said that he was disappointed that the Administration would not defend "a good man."

Bayh said that he will vote no-confidence in AGAG. Kyl said that this was pure politics and that the Senate shouldn't be holding votes of confidence on members of the President's cabinet. The upcoming vote will be on whether to have a vote of confidence, Kyl said, and he will vote not to have such a vote. Blitzer pointed out that this was hardly a "ringing endorsement" of Gonzales, and Senator Kyl responded by punching the host square in the nose, demanding: "Shut your fat pie hole, Blitzer, you make me sick." Really, though, Kyl said that it was not his place to approve or disapprove.
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Have at it. The ball, my friends, is in your court. …