MSNBC Interview - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC Interview - Transcript

MSNBC INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI)

SUBJECTS: AFGHANISTAN, ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE INTERVIEWER: ANDREA MITCHELL

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MS. MITCHELL: Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed joins us now live. The senator serves on the Senate Armed Services, Banking and Appropriations Committees. You've got it all, senator, I don't know how you keep track of what you've got to do.

What is the first priority in terms of Afghanistan for the administration? The surge is not enough, just sending troops will not stop the bad trends in this war. What would you recommend? What are the commanders in the field want? And do you agree with them?

SEN. REED: Well, the commanders in the field, first, they do need an increase in military forces because of the size of the country and because of the increasing activity of the Taliban, but they also recognize that that's just one dimension of an appropriate counterinsurgency strategy. They need additional support for economic development. They have to be prepared to support these elections, which will be scheduled later in the year and this type of institutional capacity building for local communities, for the central government agencies, the police forces, all of that has to continue.

So it's a multi-faceted approach, but the first step is to provide them increased military forces and not just personnel, but also some of the critical enablers like additional helicopters, additional aerial platforms for intelligence. That will help immensely in their efforts.

MS. MITCHELL: And what do you think that the new ambassador, we know that Richard Holbrooke is going to be headed to Afghanistan soon. What do you think should be his first mission there on this initial listening tour?

SEN. REED: Well, I think, he should emphasize the importance of the region because that is where the al Qaeda leadership is located along the Afghani-Pakistani border. He should emphasize, I think, to all the parties that this going forward requires a regional approach and that includes not just Afghanistan, but Pakistan and India and then he has to offer his good offices to be of assistance to listen.

I think the first mission is to listen closely to the individual concerns of all the key leaders, but then to quickly, to try to get them into a real productive dialogue between Pakistan, Afghanistan and including India.

MS. MITCHELL: Now, as a member of the Banking and the Appropriations Committees, obviously, you're deeply involved as well in talks about the stimulus package. Now, there's talk that Judd Gregg, a Republican colleague of yours, is a leading candidate to be Commerce Secretary in the Obama administration. On the Finance Committee, he voted against the stimulus package.

How would he effectively go out and sell a plan that he's already voted against?

SEN. REED: Well, first of all, Senator Gregg is a terribly talented individual and someone that I've had the pleasure of working with for years and he's a man of great character and integrity. He's qualified. The question of whether he would be offered the job or the question he would accept I, the question of how he then would take his current position and modify it at least, I don't have much insight into that. This is a decision or discussion I would say that is between the White House and Senator Gregg.

MS. MITCHELL: He's up in 2010 and already we've seen John Sununu, his Republican colleague lose his reelection bid, clearly, Democrats are in sway, are on the rise up there in New Hampshire. So it might be a very attractive position for him, but you've got a Democratic governor and I could imagine there were talks going on right now to see whether there would be an agreement that he would be replaced in the short-term in the next year or so by a Republican appointee.

Is that the kind of an agreement that could ease the way for him accepting this position so that the Democrats don't hit the magic 60 number?

SEN. REED: Well, again, I'd just be speculating. I don't know what the law is in New Hampshire, whether they require a special election or the governor can appoint. I would suspect that --

MS. MITCHELL: I think it is an appointment.

SEN. REED: If it's an appointment, then I would suspect that, I think, the governor would keep his own counsel. I don't think he would engage in any kind of pre-negotiation, that's usually me experience with governors.

MS. MITCHELL: Except in Illinois.

SEN. REED: Except in Illinois.

MS. MITCHELL: Except in Illinois.

SEN. REED: And I think that is an example not to emulate.

MS. MITCHELL: Let me ask you about the stimulus package though and where it stands now. There have been meetings today, senators talking about how to come up with consensus on it. Do you think that there can be a bipartisan vote in the Senate in contrast to what happened on the House side?

SEN. REED: Well, I expect there will be. I hope there will be. But the key issue that we have to pass this package, I mean, without this package, we won't be able to, one, inject significant resources into the economy to start, not only job growth, which is critically important, but also increase consumer demand, which is another aspect of our economy and without this stimulus package, the efforts to aid the financial institutions won't be amplified and complemented.

So this has to be done. I think it will be done and I believe, ultimately, it will require the support and enlist the support of members on both sides of the aisle.

MS. MITCHELL: All right. Senator Jack Reed, thank you very much.

SEN. REED: Thank you, Andrea.

MS. MITCHELL: Good to see you.

END.

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