CNN American Morning - Transcript

CNN

SHOW: AMERICAN MORNING 07:00

HEADLINE: The Fight for Iraq; Interview With Senator John Cornyn; 9/11 Commission Wants August 6 Document Declassified; Interview With James Woolsey

GUESTS: John Cornyn, James Woolsey

BYLINE: Soledad O'Brien, Anderson Cooper, Jack Cafferty, Jim Clancy, Jeanne Meserve, Frank Buckley, Jeff Greenfield, Sanjay Gupta

HIGHLIGHT:
Some of Muqtada al-Sadr's followers have battled coalition forces across southern Iraq all this week.; Interview with Senator John Cornyn.; The White House plans to cooperate with the 9/11 Commission's request to declassify a CIA report on Osama bin Laden.; Interview with James Woolsey.; Sixty-five soldiers from Ft. Hood have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq.; More and more joint replacement surgeries are being performed with minimally invasive techniques.; "Extra Effort."

BODY:
COOPER: Well, the situation in Iraq is, of course, getting a lot of attention on Capitol Hill. Joining us now to talk about it is Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Senator, thanks very much for being on the program.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Good to be with you.

COOPER: How-as you look at events on the ground, do you feel the U.S. is still sort of in control of events on the ground?

CORNYN: Well, there is no question that American military has the power to crush this insurgency. But, obviously, there's competition for power within the Shiite community, the majority of people in Iraq leading to the June 30 turnover of power. So we're seeing, I think, more upheaval and violence than we have in the recent past.

COOPER: As you well know, though, winning a war is more than just the power to crush, as you said. It's also often winning hearts and minds. How is the U.S. doing on that front in your estimation?

CORNYN: Well, the latest polls that I've seen and we've seen here on Capitol Hill of the Iraqi people show that a substantial majority appreciate what America has done, what the coalition has done there. And, indeed, notwithstanding the pictures we see on television and what we read about in the newspapers, which are necessarily directed at the conflict and perhaps the bad news, the majority of Iraq is peaceful today. It's much better off than it ever was, certainly under Saddam Hussein. Obviously, though, we still have a tough road to hoe.

COOPER: One in 10 military personnel call Texas home. Seventeen military installations in your state. What are you hearing from your constituents not only about what is going on in Iraq, but also about the possibility that troops who are there now may have to stay longer than they had anticipated?

CORNYN: Well, our troops are the most professional, best- trained, best equipped fighting force on the face of the Earth, and they know it. And they're proud of the work they're doing there on behalf of the Iraqi people and to protect America's national security interests.

Obviously, families are making tremendous sacrifices, too. The ones that wait behind and worry about their loved one fighting our conflict or war on terror in Iraq. So there is concern, but there is still a lot of pride. I think the one message, though, that we need to make clear to the American people and to these families is that America will not lose its resolve in winning this war on terror, notwithstanding the temporary upheaval that we're seeing now.

COOPER: There had been much talk over the last-really over the last year and even before that about trying to internationalize this force to some degree, trying to get more allies of the United States into the coalition, getting their forces inside Iraq. It would seem increasingly difficult to do that with the level of violence forces are now facing. Do you have any confidence anyone else is actually going to step up to the plate?

CORNYN: Well, there are more than 30 countries now that comprise the coalition and, indeed, it's an interesting phenomenon to see that Japanese, Ukrainians, Koreans and others have been captured as hostages, which appears to put the lie to those who say this is a unilateral action by the United States military. But I'm also very proud of the Japanese prime minister and others who said this will not deter them in their commitment to working with the coalition to win the war on terror in Iraq and around the world.

COOPER: But do you think there is any hope of trying to get or any-I mean, do you think the U.S. should be trying to get any other forces to send troops in?

CORNYN: Well, I think we are-the primary focus of our rests is to rebuild the Iraqi military and police force there. And, indeed, the number of Iraqis who are providing security in Iraq today far exceed the number of Americans and coalition forces. But, yes, we'd like to have other help if we can get it. And we would welcome them, I'm sure.

But it's tough going now. And thank goodness for the coalition, thank goodness for the American forces in the field continuing to do the very tough and ugly work of winning this war.

COOPER: Senator John Cornyn, appreciate you joining us on the program. Thanks very much.

CORNYN: Thank you.