MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: Nigeria Kidnappings

Interview

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MATTHEWS: That`s U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas with somevery strong words about that horror over in Nigeria, where those hundreds ofschoolgirls were taken prisoner and apparently are being sold into slavery.

I have two U.S. senators joining me right now who are at the top of the concern about this, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Susan Collins of Maine.

Let me go to Senator Klobuchar, who has been leading the charge here among the women in the U.S. Senate.

Tell us what you think we can do about this, what we know about it, and what the limits are of what we can do, and perhaps what the real potential is to get these girls saved, Senator Klobuchar.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D), MINNESOTA: Well, Chris, what we know, the 276 girls taken by gunpoint, kidnapped by Boko Haram, which name -- the terrorist group -- name literally means "Western education is sinful."

What we know is that some of the girls have escaped, so we have some information, but most of them are still in captivity. The leader of Boko Haram has said that, in fact, he is selling these girls into sex slavery, some for $12 a person. We do not know if that`s true.

And so what we have asked for, Senator Collins, the women of the Senate, have come together and said, first of all, the U.N. has to declare Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. Our government already has. Then we need to bring together international resources, which we are sending over - - now, today, we have learned France, Great Britain is -- counterterrorism.

We have to send over counterintelligence. We have to get people involved that can do hostage negotiating. Right now, we do not know where these girls are, but we do know that the world is watching. For three weeks, this was off the radar screen.

And we know people were very understandably focused on the Malaysia Airlines and all the passengers and that horrible tragedy. But you look at this as 276 girls, and the world just cannot let this happen.

MATTHEWS: Well, I don`t think it will. I have seen the front pages now. You`re right, Senator Klobuchar. Partially because of your outrage, it`s got to the front page and to the top of the fold, as we say.

Senator Collins, it seems to come down to what we do. It seems to me, it comes to what we do. We want to do something. The president says he wants to do something. Is it a SEAL team operation, is it a drone operation? How -- is it an Entebbe operation where you go in there with a few men and you kill some people? Is that what it`s about?

When I listen to Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, it sounds like she`s got it figured out. It isn`t a big army operation, it`s a very exquisite operation, like the way the Israelis did it, kill the people in your face and free the people.

Your thoughts?

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Well, first of all, we`ve lost three weeks in trying to locate these schoolgirls, and that just breaks my heart and is inexcusable. It seems to me that the Nigerian government should have asked us for help sooner, but also that the administration should have offered help sooner.

In my judgment from the conversations that I`ve had with military experts, it would be possible to put in some special forces into Nigeria. Once we locate these girls and rescue them. We ought to at least try.

In Uganda, we have special forces that are going after criminals that is making soldiers out of young boys. Why shouldn`t we have the same kind of effort to rescue these innocent schoolgirls before they are either sold into slavery, forced into marriages at very young ages, and also required to convert.

This is just a horrible situation, and the whole world ought to be outraged. But the fact is, the United States is the country that has the most assets that can be put to use, and we`re very good at these kinds of operations.

MATTHEWS: Senator, let`s listen to what former senator and former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, had to say today.

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HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The seizure of these young women by this radical extremist group, Boko Haram, is abominable, it`s criminal, it`s an act of terrorism, and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost, from the government of Nigeria. The government of Nigeria has been, in my view, somewhat derelict in its responsibility toward protecting boys and girls, men and women, in northern Nigeria over the last years.

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MATTHEWS: Senator Klobuchar, bring us up to date, into what extent has the Nigerian government in Lagos accepted our help -- our offer of help?

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D), MINNESOTA: Well, they have just accepted our offer of help. We understand from Secretary Kerry that we have been working with them from the beginning, but clearly, they were sending signals out. President Jonathan of Nigeria were sending signals out that they had it under control, that they were getting the girls. That just wasn`t the case.

The World Economic Forum, as you know, Chris, is going to be there in Nigeria, and I just hope this is a major topic because this isn`t just in Nigeria this is happening. Millions of girls are sold into brothels, sold as sex slaves, the average age is 13. I just had a trip down to Mexico with Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, who`s been such a strong advocate on this, as well as Senator Heitkamp, to talk to the Mexican attorney general, head of the federal police are starting to get a handle on it there.

If we want to elevate girls and women and make this part of our foreign policy, this is something that`s just waiting to happen. It is something we could do with the rest of the world. We have our own problem in the United States, 83 percent of the victims are from our own country, and we literally should make this a major part of our foreign policy, because when we lift girls, we lift women and they participate in democracy and the economy, we have a much better, stronger, stable country an a much better, stronger, stable world.

MATTHEWS: Thank you so much, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

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