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American Morning

Bob Kerrey on Politics

Aired February 28, 2002 - 08:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: There is some concern that the U.S. may be going too far and too fast in this war on terror.

Joining us now is Bob Kerrey, the former U.S. senator, and currently president of the New School University right here in New York.

Good to see you.

BOB KERREY, PRESIDENT, NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY: Good to see you, Paula.

ZAHN: Is there any part of you that misses your life in Washington?

KERREY: No.

ZAHN: Particularly now?

KERREY: No. Well, not particularly now. I've got a new wife, a new baby. I'm very happy here in New York.

ZAHN: Congratulations.

KERREY: Thank you.

ZAHN: Let's talk about this latest development. We learned about sending military assistance to Georgia yesterday. Today, "The Washington Post" reports that same kind of assistance goes to Yemen. Will it work?

KERREY: Well, I think we're getting stretched pretty thin. I mean, indeed, President Bush when he was campaigning criticized the Clinton administration for stretching military sources too thin. There was an issue of readiness. And we've got to provide logistical support, we have to provide intelligence support.

We're not done in Afghanistan yet. We still have 1,000 to 1,500 al Qaeda soldiers loose in Afghanistan. We haven't got Osama bin Laden, we haven't got Mullah Omar. Yes, I think we're going to stretch ourselves way too thin. We've got a war going on now -- right now. We're supporting military assistance in the Philippines. We've got action in Columbia. Yes, I think at some point there's a limit to how far we can sustain a military effort as well as the diplomatic effort necessary. We're basically AWOL in the Middle East right now. We're saying we're just letting them -- letting that play itself out. I was pleased to see the president take -- you know, take the effort and call Abdullah yesterday in Riyad.

(CROSSTALK)

KERREY: He indicated that he's willing to engage in some fashion. But that's a direct correlation between the U.S. involvement in that peace process in the Middle East and the reduction of violence. So I think we're...

ZAHN: Let's come back.

KERREY: ... getting stretched very thin both militarily and diplomatically.

ZAHN: Yeah, I'd like to get back to the Middle East a little later on. But so far, our understanding is the U.S. is not committing huge numbers of Special Forces to Georgia and Yemen. I mean, yesterday, the report was it will be anywhere from 100 to 200 officers.

KERREY: That's about the number of Special Operations Forces we have in Afghanistan. I mean, 100 to 200 takes an awful lot of logistical support and intelligence support as well. You don't just send them over there as tourists. You've got to provide the home base support and the intelligence support in order to make it successful.

Those people are going to have their lives at risk, as the soldiers do in the Philippines. They're not over there, you know, merely going over to see what they can do to train. This is not establishing a branch of New School University. They're over there to try to train in a military effort, where soldiers are going to be fighting and dying. So it is unquestionably a violent and lethal area. And the United States is saying, "We're going to make one more commitment."

And again, Gov. Bush, when he was campaigning for president said -- I think quite correctly -- that we're getting stretched very thin. And now rather than bring people home, he's sending more and more people overseas. I think that...

ZAHN: So you say there's absolutely no justification then.

(CROSSTALK)

KERREY: Well I think there's -- look, there's justification to send U.S. forces to every nation on earth if you wanted to. You can make the justification to go anywhere you want to. The problem is, we're not done in Afghanistan. We still have a long ways to go before we can say that we've got the violence reduced there. Where we've got a toehold in building a new nation state. There's tremendous violence still going on in India. If India declares war on Pakistan, all bets are off as to whether or not we're even going to succeed in Afghanistan. So I'm just saying you're better off taking this thing one step at a time. And if you're going to be deploying troops all over the world, it's going to make it more difficult for you to get the primary mission accomplished. In this case, in Afghanistan. In this case, in the Middle East.

ZAHN: It is interesting that we are just beginning to see the Democrats start to criticize the administration. You had Robert Byrd out there yesterday openly criticizing the Pentagon's latest spending requests for an increase. And he essentially said that there's a lack of an exit strategy in Afghanistan. And, obviously, there was a failure to capture Osama bin Laden. Is there a risk, as you move into this next election cycle, that Democrats will be perceived as being unpatriotic if they continue to use that kind of strategy?

KERREY: I don't think so at all. Not if we begin by describing how moved we've been since the 11th of September. I mean, I live here in New York and it's quite exhilarating to see the spirit of the community and patriotism of the nation coming together as one. To sit inside of a free and liberal democracy such as the United States is an indication of patriotic willingness to get engaged, to be involved.

So I think quite the contrary. If we begin with a patriotic feeling that we have since the 11th of September, the new unity of purpose that we have in this nation, I think it's much easier for us to make not only proposals that the American people will accept, the proposals that will make us effective in a political argument and a political end.

ZAHN: Let's move ahead to the next presidential election. You're not thinking about dipping your toe in that race again, are you?

KERREY: No, that's a bit more than a toe.

ZAHN: You care to do some handicapping here today? We're going to put up on the screen obviously the most speculated candidates of all.

KERREY: That's not what your screen says.

ZAHN: Al Gore, is he in or out?

KERREY: No, it...

ZAHN: Oh, excuse me, Dick Gephardt. Let's go with Dick Gephardt. You remember him.

KERREY: Yeah, I think Dick Gephardt is quite strong. I mean, he's got probably the easiest access to labor, which is very important. Working men and women are a very important part of not only the Democratic message, but the Democratic effort. So -- and Dick is enormously popular. He's a terrific guy. Both he and Jane are wonderful campaigners. So if he decides to get in, he's a formidable candidate.

ZAHN: How about Al Gore?

KERREY: Al Gore, likewise. He's got 40 percent of the Democratic support today. Rule number one, by the way, in Republican or Democratic primaries is you have to finish first or second in New Hampshire. And rule number two is, increasingly, the parties are making it difficult for non-front runners to run. They're compressing the primaries...

ZAHN: Sure.

KERREY: ... they're selecting more and more of the delegates at the convention, making it difficult for somebody who is not established to run.

ZAHN: I guess Gore has an advantage. Do you see him doing it?

KERREY: I don't know.

ZAHN: Do you want to make a prediction this morning? Do you think he'll run? You don't.

KERREY: If I was going to predict it, yes, I would say that it's likely. He actually won the -- he won the election in 2000 on the popular vote.

ZAHN: Oh, I'm not getting into that fight.

KERREY: No, but he did. No, it's not a fight. It's just that if you -- if you finish 500,000 votes for the popular vote, and that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the electoral college, it seems to me you're likely to be saying maybe I should run again.

ZAHN: How about the other senator that shares your name, Sen. John Kerry?

KERREY: Oh, John can be extremely strong. Not only does he have a national reputation, a good reputation in the environment, in education, in national security, but he's right next door in Massachusetts. So I'll say he'll be one of the front runners.

ZAHN: Sen. Daschle?

KERREY: Daschle, also.

ZAHN: He kind of hinted last week that he's seriously considering running.

KERREY: Well he is -- he is the most important democratic leader in the country today -- elected democratic leader. He's kind, he's gentle, he's considerate, but he's also tough as heck. He's relentless in pursuit of the objective, and I find him enormously appealing.

ZAHN: You like all these guys. KERREY: I do.

ZAHN: Do you have a number one choice out of that pack?

KERREY: I don't. I don't have to have to have (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ZAHN: You're playing it very safe here on AM.

KERREY: Thank you very much.

ZAHN: Sen. Bob Kerrey, great to see you. Thanks for dropping by.

KERREY: Thanks.

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