MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann - Transcript

MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann - Transcript

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OLBERMANN: And it may be sad but fair to say that there is now war about the war in Iraq in the Senate, Republicans casting Democrats as uncertain about what course to take there, even unpatriotic, some Democrats saying Republicans are incompetent to handle whatever course is best.

Well, the GOP position seems united, if not necessarily thought out. The Democrats appear to be less unanimous, one Democratic group in the Senate, Rhode Island‘s Jack Reed among its leaders, now calling for a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces there in a nonbinding resolution that names no specific end date, but another group of Democrats led by John Kerry of Massachusetts offering a competing measure.

Senator Reed kind enough to join us now from Washington.

Thank you for your time, sir.

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

OLBERMANN: Republicans charging that what you are proposing amounts to cutting and running, that any effort to set some sort of withdrawal timetable is surrendering to terrorism. How do you answer that?

REED: Far from surrender, Keith, it recognizes, our proposal, a fundamental reality. Ultimately, it‘ll be the Iraqis that will stabilize their country, establish their country, and protect their own way of life. The sooner we send that signal to them that we‘re not there indefinitely with an open-ended commitment, the sooner they‘ll take up the hard task of building their security forces and really doing the work of stabilizing their country for their own future.

OLBERMANN: Have you been frustrated about where this debate wound up? I mean, it seems to be equating a lack of saluting the administration with a lack of patriotism, that all criticism is wrong. Is that what we should be talking about?

REED: Oh, absolutely not. I think the administration and their allies in Congress has a good uniting behind slogans like "Mission accomplished" and "We‘ll stand down when they stand up." But those are just slogans.

We‘re trying to forge a policy that will make sense on the ground in Iraq. And that policy, I think, begins with a redeployment this year, beginning to take our forces out. The timetable, the timing, all that would be determined by the commander in chief, the president, subject to the advice of his military commanders.

But we have to begin today, one, to send a signal to the Iraqis that ultimately, it‘s their struggle. Two, to take the pressure off our military forces, who are doing a magnificent job, but they‘re highly stressed because of their deployments across the world (INAUDIBLE).

OLBERMANN: Within -- I‘m sorry. Within your own party, sir, is there division on Iraq and what to do here? Is positioning for the next presidential election a factor in an area where perhaps it should not be a factor?

REED: Well, there‘s a serious debate go on—going on within the Democratic caucus, and that‘s, I think, a function of the seriousness of the problem we face. It‘s hard to determine precisely the most efficient course in Iraq. So I‘m not surprised at the debate.

And I‘m sure there is considerations (INAUDIBLE) indeed of, you know, personal position, of advancement, whatever. But I think fundamentally and substantively, we‘re trying to develop a policy that will work for the United States, protect our soldiers in the field, and give the Iraqis a chance to stabilize their country.

OLBERMANN: Senator Reed, President Bush said on Monday, There will be no early withdrawal as long as we run the Congress and occupy the White House. Can you read that for us, interpret it for us? Does that mean our commitment in Iraq is indeed open-ended, no matter how the facts on the ground might change, or how—what they actually are?

REED: That language sounds like an open-ended commitment, a commitment that is based not upon the reality in Iraq, but the political constellation here in Washington. I don‘t think that‘s the calculation we should do. I don‘t think it should be a political calculation, I think it should be strategic. It should, I think, rest on our understanding of the situation in Iraq.

And also, I think, part of that understanding is the fact that ultimately, the Iraqis have to take up the burden. It‘s their country. We can help them. We should help them. But they have to take the lead.

OLBERMANN: Personally, do you feel that having been one of the few senators who voted against the war resolution in 2002 gives you any more credence, credibility on this subject now?

REED: It may give some credibility. I spent a lot of time looking at the decision back there in October of 2002. I thought then that this was not a wise strategic judgment. And since that time, I think the planning of the administration and their competence has been severely and appropriately questioned.

But it‘s not about the past, it‘s about what we can do to make a better future, not only for Iraq, but also to relieve the pressure on our forces, which are, as I said, doing an extraordinary job.

OLBERMANN: Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and of the Senate Armed Services Committee, great thanks for (INAUDIBLE) your time (INAUDIBLE)...

REED: Thanks, Keith.

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