FOX News "FOX News Sunday" - Transcript: Current Situation in Iraq

Interview

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Now, to cover all this from Philadelphia, we have Senator Bob Casey joining us. And here in studio, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso.

Welcome to you both.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Thank you. Thanks for having me, Shannon.

BREAM: Let's start here.

SEN. BOB CASEY (D), PA: It's good to be with you, Shannon.

BREAM: Senator Casey, thank you very much.

I want to start by asking both of you for your reaction. We'll start with Senator Barrasso, to the events in Israel.

BARRASSO: Well, obviously, our hearts go out to all of those families involved. There will be justice. I believe that. We hear that from the ambassador.

There's obviously emotions. There is -- there's been revenge, senseless violence. And you worry about it spiraling downward.

BREAM: And, Senator Casey?

CASEY: Shannon, whether it's the killing of three Israeli teens or the killing of a Palestinian teenager, in both instances, we have to condemn acts of violence in the strongest possible terms, number one.

And, number two, the justice systems in both places have to take care of this now. And you heard from the ambassador the commitment the Israelis have to bringing their own people to justice. I have no doubt now that we see the news of six arrests that they will do that because Israel is a place where the rule of law still prevails.

I would hope, and I would expect that the Palestinians would do the same thing, but that remains to be seen. But we're heartened by the news that at least arrests have been made and the justice system is proceeding.

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BREAM: Senator Barrasso, this was a man who was in custody. When he left reportedly said, "I'll see you in New York." Obviously been very successful across Syria and Iraq.

How concerned are you?

BARRASSO: Very concerned -- concerned for the safety and security of the American people.

Obviously, he feels emboldened by what this Islamic State has been able to accomplish. He must feel safe in that large area they've taken control of, which shows you that when the United States leaves a vacuum, others will go in, others will fill it. Bad actors will show up. And we're seeing that right now.

And my greatest concern is for what he intends to do, and I think they have the capability and intent to attack the United States.

BREAM: And, by the way, Iraqi officials say they're working to confirm this is, indeed, al Baghdadi. So, he purports to be. We'll see if it is.

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BREAM: Senator Barrasso, how much fault does the U.S. bear with what we're seeing happening now?

BARRASSO: I believe that President Obama is projecting worldwide U.S. weakness. And I think that it's hurting us all across the Middle East, but other places worldwide as well, including Russia and the Ukraine.

So, I think that the U.S. withdrawal has created this vacuum, which has allowed for this to happen. And it just emboldens others and invites them to act in a belligerent way, so that our friends no longer trust us, our enemies don't fear us, and when the United States says to our friends, you know, you're on your own, what that allows to others is they come and get it.

BREAM: All right. Senator Casey, Iraq's current prime minister has taken a lot of heat of this. Nouri al Maliki says he intends to run for a third term. It sounds like he's not stepping down, although there are -- a lot of calls for that. He's been accused of making the situation worse there in Iraq by not being more inclusive.

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BREAM: So, Senator Casey, do you think that al Maliki is capable of that, or do you think it's time for him to go?

CASEY: No, I don't think he's capable of it, Shannon. I think the last couple of years are testament to that. In retrospect, I think probably both administrations put too much confidence in him.

So, we would hope -- although we can't dictate -- we would hope that the Iraqi people would choose a new leader to lead them forward. He's not had a government that's been inclusive. He's not taken the steps that are necessary to have a government of national unity.

But I do think the president -- I would disagree with John about the president's leadership. I think he's shown strong leadership in the region. I think the steps he's taken so far as it relates to Iraq and focusing on ISIS as a threat, not only to the Iraqi people but to the region and ultimately to us if they're going to try to form a caliphate.

So, I think the president has taken the right steps so far. We don't know what will happen next in terms of additional steps. We don't know if there will be any other direct military action, but I think putting our personnel on the ground to protect our diplomatic interests, to protect our embassy and our personnel as well as to get an assessment from an intelligence point of view of what's happening on the ground is appropriate and prudent, but other steps may need to be taken.

BREAM: Well -- and, Senator Casey, to that point, we have ramped up the number of U.S. personnel we have on the ground there. We know, the Defense Department confirms there are drones flying over, although no authorization for airstrikes at this point.

I want to ask you both, and I'll start with you, Senator Casey, at what point do you think the president needs to come to Congress to authorize any further level of involvement in Iraq?

CASEY: Well, Shannon, I don't think we're at that point yet. And I hope -- I hope that the president will continue to on the path he's been on, which is to assess the situation, make sure our national interests are served.

But an interesting development in the last couple of days where the president, I think appropriately, asked Congress for support for the Syrian opposition, the well-vetted Syrian opposition to make sure that we can change -- have an impact, I should say, changing the dynamic on the battlefield in Syria, because as we know, the moderate opposition in Syria is fighting in a sense a two-front war. Fighting Assad and the barrel bombs and brutality that he has -- the he has put forth as well as the Syrian opposition fighting ISIS.

So, I think it's very important that the well-vetted Syrian opposition has the resources to be able to fight and to change the dynamic on the battlefield. If that changes, that will have a positive impact not only in Syria but in Iraq as well.

BREAM: And, Senator Casey, I want to come back to you on that point, but first give Senator Barrasso a chance to weigh in.

Do you think at some point the President Obama needs to come to Congress regarding our involvement in Iraq? And what would that point be for you?

BARRASSO: Well, if the president wants boots on the ground -- yes, he must come to Congress in that situation. But a strong foreign policy means that when a president says something that those words have meaning followed through on. Like there was this -- we talked about Syria, I arming the rebels, training them. And, you know, there are 30 different groups, moderate groups, six larger groups within that with different interactions.

So, you're not exactly sure who to help and who they attack. You right now have Assad attacking ISIS. So, who do they fight? Where do you train them?

I think the president does have to come to Congress for additional authorization. And the president, I think, really has not been leading. I want to know what the president's plan is. He drew a -- he bluffed with his red line in Syria. I think he was slow to recognize what was happening with ISIS.

And we need a plan from a president who's engaged, not who seems to be just running out the clock.

BREAM: Well, and as Senator Casey mentioned, he has asked for this $500 million that would be aimed at appropriately vetted opposition forces in Syria.

Senator Casey, you've been calling for that for a long time. Do you think we missed our window of opportunity there, even if Congress goes along with this request, is it too little too late?

CASEY: I don't think it's too little too late. I would have preferred it happened earlier, but I do think in response to what John said, I think that the president's request for support for the opposition in Syria is the beginning of a new approach and a strategy to have better success on the ground.

I would also say that when it came to the debate last fall and the red line and the use of force, I'm not sure that that transpired as I would have hoped. But I do think we should -- we should commend the administration for the result that they got. The removal of chemical weapons out of Syria is a substantial accomplishment. Not to say that we're certain that every single chemical weapon is out of there, but to have, by one estimate, 100 percent of the chemical weapons secured and taken out of Syria diminished the threat to Israel, diminished the threat to the region, and I think that's an accomplishment.

We've got to have, I believe, much more of a bipartisan approach to Syria and to Iraq and some of that will involve the president coming to Congress as it relates to Syria as well as Iraq, but I would agree with John when he said that there's no reason for combat troops in Iraq.

BREAM: And, Senator Barrasso, I want to pivot to Iran. There's been some skepticism on the hill about dealing with Iran. There was bipartisan legislation proposed by Senator Menendez. Both you and Senator Casey signed on as co-sponsors of that. It would have some teeth for going after Iran if it doesn't comply with the deals and the deadlines. The White House immediately threatened to veto it.

So, for you, how will you define success with regard to the talks and that July 20th deadline?

BARRASSO: The July 20th deadline is for the talks to be finished by then. This is now the end of the six-month period. It seems to me at this point, Iran has gotten everything that they've wanted. The sanctions have been released. They've gotten the freeze of the $7 billion in assets lifted. And they've given nothing so far.

So, if you've seen the YouTube video of the foreign minister of Iran, he seems like he's setting up to either blame the United States if it doesn't work, or try to take credit if it does work.

There's a letter signed by 83 senators that says how we define success, which is no ability to enrich at all and significant inspections. A level of being able to see what they're really doing and getting around. And I think it's going to be very difficult for Iran to comply with that.

BREAM: All right. Senator Barrasso, Senator Casey, we thank you both for joining us today.

BARRASSO: Thanks for having us.

BREAM: All right. How concerned are you at home about the fighting in the Middle East? Join the conversation on Facebook with other FNS viewers.

And does the terrorist threat to Iraq mean Americans will be in danger here at home? Our Sunday panel weighs in, next.

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