Fox The Big Story with John Gibson - Transcript

Fox News Network

SHOW: THE BIG STORY WITH JOHN GIBSON (17:19)

HEADLINE: Interview With Evan Bayh, John Cornyn

GUESTS: Evan Bayh, John Cornyn

BYLINE: John Gibson

BODY:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A free Iraq will be a decisive blow to terrorism at the heart of its power and a victory for the civilized world and for the security of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIBSON: President Bush says Iraq will become a shining beacon of freedom in the Middle East and that will eventually lead to a safer America. Let's contrast the president's approach to national security with John Kerry's. Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn joins me now from Capitol Hill. Senator, the big question, can President Bush convince voters that we are safer with him in office?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN ® TEXAS: Well, I think if anybody is listening and paying attention, I think they would have to acknowledge that we are. I heard you talking with Senator Bayh with proliferation of nuclear weapons. We've seen an unprecedented demonstration of-or reaction, a response to what we've done in Iraq and other places by what's happened in Libya. A new openness of Iran to IAEA inspections, although we're not where we need to be. And I think North Korea has come back to the table and talked, engaged in multilateral talks, and hopefully we can begin to make more progress there. I think we've seen some of that response.

GIBSON: Senator Kerry, Senator, is proposing we actually engage in one-on-one talks with North Korea which President Bush has opposed because he feels that's what North Korea wants and we shouldn't give them what they want. So what would you do if you were president? Would you say, sure, we'll talk to them?

CORNYN: Well, of course, Kim Jong Il would like nothing better than to sit down across the table and negotiate one-on-one which sort of elevates him, his prestige in the international community and really makes him out to be more influential, more important than he really is. There are a lot of people in addition to the United States who are concerned about North Korea and its nuclear weapons capacity. People in the neighborhood, so to speak-Japan, and China, and other countries-who have an awful lot at stake. And I think it's only right we should get all of those at the table, and I think that's where we need to be.

GIBSON: Senator Cornyn, the other thing Senator Kerry is proposing is that we actually go out and secure all the sources for nuclear bomb material that terrorists could use if they got their hands on it, like that yellow cake from Niger that became a big stink a while back. Do you think that we can go to a place like Niger and say, sorry, we're not going to let you sell this stuff. If we have to, we're going to occupy Niger to make sure you don't?

CORNYN: Well, I think certainly no one is suggesting we do something quite like that, but I do think it is important we work with the international community to try to enter into agreements and enforceable arrangements whereby the development, and proliferation and the trafficking of nuclear materials is made possible. We know that, for example, that the old Soviet Union-that there's probably materials that are not properly secured or in the hands of people who are out of work or underemployed that could be put to dangerous use, but I do think ...

GIBSON: Well, Senator Kerry is on just that point is saying for a far smaller cost than we have paid in Iraq so far we could go out and secure all that nuclear material, in other words, go buy it. Would you support a nuclear material/nuclear bomb buy-back program?

CORNYN: Well, I think we ought to include all options, and that would certainly be one of them if indeed that's possible, but the problem is that once tyrants and dictators like Saddam Hussein and others begin the process of developing weapons of mass destruction, they're not going to sell them to us at any price. That's why I support the preemptive action we've taken against Saddam in Iraq for a number of reasons, but clearly he was on a path to developing nuclear weapons capacity. The question is when would he become a direct danger to us because of those nuclear weapons, and it was really just a matter of time.

GIBSON: Yes. Why wait? Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn. Senator, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

CORNYN: Thanks, John.