Your World with Neil Cavuto - Transcript

Fox News July 29, 2004

SHOW: YOUR WORLD WITH NEIL CAVUTO (16:00)

July 29, 2004 Thursday

HEADLINE: Interview with Barney Frank, Steny Hoyer

GUESTS: Barney Frank, Steny Hoyer

BYLINE: Neil Cavuto

BODY:

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), HOUSE MINORITY WHIP: Well, I think it is a good-good thing. I think Barney said that. Obviously, to the extent we can catch one, two, five, 10, 20, 100, we are better off.

One cannot assume that there is a limitless supply, although we have to work on that. And that is a broader effort that we have to make. But certainly getting some of the people who committed atrocities, killed large numbers of people and have gone after us because we are Americans, or because we have values that they don't share...

CAVUTO: But I guess what I am asking, sir, if you don't mind, it's probably a political question here, but the fact that many in this party-I don't know if you are in that camp-have criticized this administration for-for stumbling in the war on terror, does this fly in the face of that?

HOYER: I think we are all, in the Democratic Party, in the camp of criticizing the effort because they ignored some of the best advice they got from our military and the numbers they needed. They didn't have our people fully supplied with safety gear, vests...

CAVUTO: But I'm talking more specifically about-go ahead.

HOYER: I know. I'm going to get to your question. So I think that is-I happen to have been on the opposite side of Barney.

I supported the effort, supported the funding. I thought getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a positive thing for us to do. But the capture of one individual, or even five or 10 individuals by the Pakistanis or by others, is certainly a very positive effect. But I don't think it's going to have an effect on the-on the opinion, for instance, of the generals that spoke yesterday, on the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Shalishkavili (ph), and Wesley Clark, and others who clearly believe that this president is one-sided in terms of going after the solution...

CAVUTO: So you don't think he's doing enough. You know, your prospective nominee tonight, sir, is on the wires saying as part of his remarks tonight that he would fight for Americans at home and abroad if necessary, that strength is more than tough words. Is that going to be his message, that this president has not done enough on the war own terror when, yet, on a day like this, a top al Qaeda bigwig has been nabbed?

HOYER: Your premise seems to be-or your question seems to premise that the capture of one al Qaeda is the solution to our problem. I think Barney is correct. That is not the solution to our problem.

It is obviously part of the solution, but we are now many months into this effort. Some believe we have distracted our effort from terrorists to Saddam Hussein.

CAVUTO: Yes.

HOYER: And that is a worthy argument. But that is not...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But could I ask you, what if we got Usama bin Laden?

HOYER: No, let me-that would be a very positive thing for us to do. Hopefully we're going do that. And hopefully we're going to do it in a short time.

I certainly hope we don't do it on October 30 or something like that. That is going to look pretty phony, in my opinion, which hopefully we could have gotten him before this.

Our intelligence should have been better. We should have gotten him in Afghanistan. But having said that, let me-let me make the larger point.

CAVUTO: Very quickly.

HOYER: The point is John Kerry is believed by many of us to be much better at dealing with our international security, working with our allies, the premise that was articulated by Jimmy Carter and others and General Shalishkavili (ph), that we need to engage our allies in a partnership. The administration hasn't done that as well as they should have.

CAVUTO: OK. All right. Congressman Steny Hoyer, thank you very much, House minority whip. Always a pleasure, sir.

HOYER: Good. Good to see you.