CNN "Late Edition"-Transcript
Interview
CNN "Late Edition"-Transcript
BLITZER: Welcome back. The pressure for progress in Iraq grew stronger on Capitol Hill this week as the Senate held an all-night session to debate a change in war policy. Democrats again fell short in their efforts to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, dismissed this week's all-nighter as, quote, "political theater." He's joining us now from Louisville, Kentucky. Senator, thanks very much for joining us. Welcome back...
MCCONNELL: Good morning, Wolf.
BLITZER: ... to "Late Edition." Before we get to the specifics of that debate, I want your quick reaction to what Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said earlier today on "Meet the Press," recommending censure of the president. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD, D-WIS.: I think we need to do something serious in terms of accountability. And that's why I will be shortly introducing a censure resolution of the president and the administration.
One, on their getting us onto the war of Iraq -- in Iraq and their failure to adequately prepare our military, and the misleading statements that have continued throughout the war in Iraq. And the second on this administration's outrageous attack on the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right. You want to respond to Senator Feingold?
MCCONNELL: Yeah. You know, today marks the 200th day of the new Congress. And I'm kind of stunned that Senator Feingold just recommended on the heels of the all-night theater of Tuesday night gives you a sense, Wolf, of why this Congress now has a 14 percent approval rating. We think it's the lowest in the history of polling.
All they do is have Iraq votes and investigations. On the legislative side about all we've been able to accomplish is to keep the lights on in the Capitol, 19 or 20 post office renamings, and we have passed a very important troop funding bill, thank goodness.
But the American people are looking at this Congress and saying, where's the legislation? What are you going to do to make America better? I think Senator Feingold's suggestions are right in league with the all-night session the other night, which the American people are looking at with disbelief.
BLITZER: Here's what the specifics of his charges. And I'll briefly go through them. Among other things, for the incorrect information on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, incorrect information about any Al Qaida links to Saddam Hussein, failure to plan for a civil conflict in Iraq, overstretching of the Army and the Marine Corps, justifying military involvement in Iraq by repeatedly distorting the situation in Iraq.
And then he goes into the whole second part of the illegal, he says, NSA warrantless wiretapping program, the extreme measures used on terror detainees, violating, he says, the Geneva conventions. He goes point by point by point. As you know, that will resonate with a lot of Americans out there.
MCCONNELL: I think it's safe to say Russ Feingold is not a fan of George Bush. I think that's the best way to sum that up. Look, the fundamental problem that the Democrats have is, they aren't passing any legislation. They aren't doing anything to make the country better.
They had one opportunity to stop the war in Iraq if they really wanted to. And that was to cut off the funding for the troops. But they didn't do that. They funded it. The troops are now in the middle of the surge. There is some indication that the surge is going well, although the Iraqi government continues to be largely an embarrassment, it strikes me.
And most members of the Senate are willing to wait until September to get the Petraeus and Crocker reports to make a judgment about where we should go from there.
BLITZER: Is September the key month for you? Because there have been, as you know, suggestions saying, September, they're really not going to know for sure. They may need November, they may need a year from now. One commanding general suggested they need another two years before they can really determine if this new strategy's a success. How important is the report that the administration is promising by mid-September?
MCCONNELL: Well, you know, that report was written into the troop funding bill. It's a date of legislative significance, a date that virtually all Republicans are looking to. And there are a few Democrats who actually may be interested in the facts.
Most of the Democrats, regretfully, have already made up their mind. They're not going to pay any attention to General Petraeus's report. They want us to leave tomorrow with all the dangers that that envisions, Wolf, for new attacks on the homeland here in the United States.
I mean, we know, the one thing we know for sure, is the decision to get on offense in the war on terror, to go into Afghanistan, to go onto Iraq, has protected the homeland, the United States of America for almost six years. That part we know has been a huge success.
It has been more difficult, however, obviously, having a government set up in either Afghanistan or Iraq, that can function for the future and not become another unimpeded haven for these terrorists.
BLITZER: So let me just be precise, Senator. You're saying mid- September, that's when major decisions have to be made about perhaps changing course?
MCCONNELL: Sure. I think the president himself has suggested that. We're all looking to September. And I think most members of, at least of my party in the Senate, are willing to wait until then to make some definitive judgment, feeling that the facts are actually important.
BLITZER: You've been very critical of the Iraqi government, not only today but in recent weeks and months, indeed, for their not living up to their part of the bargain as far as the U.S. is concerned. Do you really believe by mid-September, they're going to make the kinds of decisions on disarming militias, oil-sharing, having elections, local elections?
Do you think they're really going to get those decisions done by mid-September? MCCONNELL: Well, they've certainly been unimpressive so far. But they have until September to make progress. And we'll take a look at the report from Ambassador Crocker about the political situation in September and maybe make judgments based on the actual facts rather than speculating in July what happen in September.
BLITZER: But you know they're insisting that the parliament's going to go on vacation for the whole month of August. So it doesn't look like they're going to be able to have any roll-call votes, not that they have a whole lot right now, given the fact they very often can't even get a quorum necessary to pass legislation.
MCCONNELL: Yeah, I mean, that's why I and others feel the Iraqi government's been largely an embarrassment. I mean, it's ridiculous to suggest that they would be out of session in August while our troops are over there in 120-degree weather hunting down Al Qaida.
BLITZER: A majority of the Senate did vote for a timetable for withdrawal. The vote was 52-47 after that all-nighter that was approved, that went forward. Four Republicans voted with the Democrats: Susan Collins, Chuck Hagel, Gordon Smith and Olympia Snowe. I want you to listen to what your counterpart, the majority leader, Harry Reid, said after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Regrettably, Republicans chose to block this amendment. They chose to block a bipartisan amendment, Mr. President, to deny the American people an up or down vote. They chose to continue protecting their president instead of our troops, no matter the cost to our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: When you were in the majority, you always complained that the Democrats as the minority wouldn't let you have up and down votes on judicial nominees or other issues. Why are you standing in the way of an up and down vote on this really important issue?
MCCONNELL: The minority always complains about the life in the Senate. That's the way it works.
But, you know, for years, at least as long as I've been in the Senate, controversial measures require 60 votes. Actually, we had fewer Republican defections on the Levin-Reed amendment, the troop withdrawal amendment, the other night than we had on other Iraq votes. There have been 19 of them this year.
We've actually lost more Republicans on other votes than we did on that one. I think it was significant that most Republicans -- overwhelming majority of my conference of 49, there are 51 Democrats, one of the Democrats actually voted with us -- are willing to wait until September to see what the facts are before making a final judgment about which direction we ought to take.
BLITZER: We're going to leave it right there, Senator McConnell. Thank you very much for joining us.
MCCONNELL: Thank you, Wolf.
Source