MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Russia and Syria

Interview

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For more, let me bring in Congressman John Garamendi of California who has told me on radio and on this show that he is a no vote. Congressman, great to have you with us tonight. I appreciate your time.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI, (D) CALIFORNIA: Good to be with you Ed and good discussion. You really laid it out there.

SCHULTZ: Well, where do you stand tonight Congressman? There`s been a lot of lobbying from the White House on Capitol Hill. Do you think they`re moving votes?

GARAMENDI: I think what`s moving votes is this Russian overture which is extremely important and an enormous opportunity to do a lot of good and to avoid bombing by the United States. I think we have time in Congress. I remain a no vote. But I think we have time. We need to keep this issue on the table. Let it stay there. We can continue to debate and discuss the ins and outs of it. But really, this whole thing has now moved to the Russian court. Putin and his administration have now inherited the Syrian problem. They say they are going to get those chemical weapons secured. They`re going to have them removed and eventually destroyed, terrific. Go do it Mr. Putin. It`s in your hands and we`re going to hold your credibility up for public scrutiny. That`s a good thing.

SCHULTZ: Do you think we can trust the Russians? I mean, is this a new day-dawning in diplomacy?

GARAMENDI: I think we can trust them and I think we can verify that they`re actually getting it done. We know where those weapons are and we know that the Russians have as we have over the last 20 years destroyed nearly all of our chemical weapons stockpile. We have more to do. They have more to do. They know how to do it. We know how to do it. Well, OK, go get it done Mr. Putin.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GARAMENDI: The ball is in your court and this is a real opportunity to protect the Syrian people from chemical weapons attack and the neighborhood.

SCHULTZ: Sure.

GARAMENDI: And really set a much better policy in place for the whole Middle East and move to negotiating table on the Syrian civil war.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, 63 percent of the American people are against the strike, do you think members of Congress are willing to side with the President and say I needed to give him that diplomatic power although I really wasn`t for a strike. I mean, the President tonight is going to ask for the order. He`s been on Capitol Hill and his people have been on Capitol Hill for the last several days asking for a yes vote. He`s saying you got to give me the yes vote so we are united moving forward in the international community. Is it worth it to members of Congress to take that leap of faith?

GARAMENDI: I don`t think we`re at that moment yet. I think the President has said that this issue can go along for some while. Senator Kerry -- Secretary Kerry said it`s got to be done quickly. Well, define quickly. As I heard today, quickly doesn`t mean tomorrow, doesn`t mean the next day. It really means that we have an opportunity with France taking this issue to the United Nations Council and Russia.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GARAMENDI: All of us working together to solve a major problem in the Middle East. This is good. We have some time in Congress. We don`t need to vote today, tomorrow, even next week, but we need to have this issue on the table ready to go.

SCHULTZ: OK. And what do you expect out of the President tonight?

Do you expect him to lay out a detailed plan and a future for Syria? Does he have to go that far? What are your expectations? What do you think he has to accomplish tonight?

GARAMENDI: I think he needs to focus on the chemical weapons. I think that`s the issue at the moment and the issue in the weeks ahead. He said so when he announced that he was going to take action. When he bought it to Congress, he said we have time. Indeed, we do have time, and now, this very, very important issue has been passed to the Russians and to the United Nations all of whom including Syria seen to be on board to gain international control of these chemical weapons, and dispose of them. And Syria apparently has agreed to sign under the chemical weapons at court. This is really, really important. We don`t need to rush, we need to push forward, we need to make sure that all of the steps are in place and we need to make it very, very clear that Russia is now in the game in a very positive way. It`s now their responsibility to make sure that Syria carries it out.

SCHULTZ: But it`s our responsibility to make sure that his trust and verify, the verification that this is getting done. I mean .

GARAMENDI: Absolutely. Absolutely.

SCHULTZ: . that is -- that`s kind of a heavy lift. I mean, you`re going to have to under turn every rock in Syria to make sure they`re telling the truth, aren`t you?

GARAMENDI: Well, we know where these weapons are.

SCHULTZ: OK.

GARAMENDI: We know them. We have some pretty good indication that they`re secure and .

SCHULTZ: So you think the intel is tight?

GARAMENDI: The intel is in good shape and we know that there are going to be foreign experts on the ground and quite possibly Russia getting control of those weapons and hopefully taking them out of the country.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, great to have you with us. John Garamendi of California, who sits on Armed Services. Great to have you on the program tonight. Thank you, sir.

GARAMENDI: Thank you, Ed.

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