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American Morning

Interview with Representatives Peter King, Chris Bell

Aired October 29, 2003 - 07:16   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some members of Congress have just seen the struggle for stability in Iraq firsthand. An eight-member delegation returned to Washington from Iraq last night. The tour was orchestrated and paid for by the Pentagon.
Joining us from Washington to talk about the experience, Republican Congressman Peter King of New York, and Texas Democrat Chris Bell.

Good morning to you both, gentlemen.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Good morning.

REP. CHRIS BELL (D), TEXAS: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Congressman King, you first. What is the one thing you saw over there that you think is not being covered well here in the United States?

KING: I would say the fact that probably 90 to 95 percent of the country is stable, and that these incidents you see, as tragic as they are and as horrific as they are, are carried out in limited areas.

For instance, on the Saturday that we arrived and we were coming in on a highway, there was a bombing on the road up ahead from us. We had to divert. That took us through downtown Baghdad, and the streets were filled with people, traffic jams and shopping was going on.

So, there really is this duality of extreme violence in certain instances. But on the other hand, an attempt by the Iraqis and the Americans and the coalition forces to bring the country back to a certain level of normality.

O'BRIEN: All right, Congressman Bell, that sort of implies the media isn't doing its job. Is it more complex than that?

BELL: I think it is more complex, and I would say that there really isn't a sense of normalcy. Sure, some things look like they've returned to normal, as Congressman King points out. There is traffic. There are people shopping. But we had only been there about 15 minutes when our convoy came to a screeching halt. And we were diverted because an Iraqi had been trying to place an explosive device up in the road ahead and had accidentally blown himself up. I wouldn't call that normal.

I think that we have huge challenges left that we're facing in Iraq, and we need to be more honest with the American people that it's going to take a lot of time, that we're going to have patience and just level with folks and say, we have a lot of work to do there.

O'BRIEN: Congressman King, you say it's 90 to 95 percent normal, but it is still so unsafe that members of Congress, such as yourself, don't even sleep there. You go to Jordan for security reasons. You know, I'm curious if you think there is any specific thing you can point to that the U.S. needs to improve on to try to get a handle on the security situation.

KING: Well, there are two things. First, as far as the normality, we should keep in mind that even in our own country, you know, back in 1969 and '70, we had 4,000 and 5,000 bombings a year. So, these things can happen.

What should be done I think is what is being done, and that is accelerate the training of the Iraqi police, the Iraqi army. There are more than 30,000 Iraqi police officers on the street now. They are deploying Iraqi troops along the Iranian border, and to get more Iraqis involved, and not to back off in the meantime.

So, this is going to be long, and it's going to be hard. There is no doubt about it. There is nothing easy about this. I think the administration has been honest. We can debate that, but the fact is, as Americans, we should go forward. And I would be the first to say that it's going to be a long, difficult fight.

But on the other hand, I'm confident we're winning. We're going to continue to win, and that we will win not just the military engagement, but the minds and hearts of the Iraqi people.

O'BRIEN: Congressman Bell, a lot of people would tell you more than anything this is a failure of U.S. intelligence to do its job. Would you go along with that?

BELL: I think there were some giant miscalculations. Having been there, we were told that the government would come up from the Iraqi people ,that the occupation would be brief, that Iraqi oil revenue would pay for the reconstruction. None that have has occurred.

But realizing that, realizing the challenges we face, we also need to point out that they are seeing some success in different parts of Iraq with the reconstruction effort. They should learn from those successes, share those successes, and make sure that everyone who is working on the reconstruction effort is knowledgeable about what is being accomplished. I think that's the only way we're going to succeed, and I would agree with Congressman King that it would be a nightmare if the United States were to pull out at this particular point in time.

O'BRIEN: Congressmen Chris Bell and Peter King, thank you both for being with us this morning.

KING: Miles, thank you.

BELL: Thank you, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 29, 2003 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some members of Congress have just seen the struggle for stability in Iraq firsthand. An eight-member delegation returned to Washington from Iraq last night. The tour was orchestrated and paid for by the Pentagon.
Joining us from Washington to talk about the experience, Republican Congressman Peter King of New York, and Texas Democrat Chris Bell.

Good morning to you both, gentlemen.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Good morning.

REP. CHRIS BELL (D), TEXAS: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Congressman King, you first. What is the one thing you saw over there that you think is not being covered well here in the United States?

KING: I would say the fact that probably 90 to 95 percent of the country is stable, and that these incidents you see, as tragic as they are and as horrific as they are, are carried out in limited areas.

For instance, on the Saturday that we arrived and we were coming in on a highway, there was a bombing on the road up ahead from us. We had to divert. That took us through downtown Baghdad, and the streets were filled with people, traffic jams and shopping was going on.

So, there really is this duality of extreme violence in certain instances. But on the other hand, an attempt by the Iraqis and the Americans and the coalition forces to bring the country back to a certain level of normality.

O'BRIEN: All right, Congressman Bell, that sort of implies the media isn't doing its job. Is it more complex than that?

BELL: I think it is more complex, and I would say that there really isn't a sense of normalcy. Sure, some things look like they've returned to normal, as Congressman King points out. There is traffic. There are people shopping. But we had only been there about 15 minutes when our convoy came to a screeching halt. And we were diverted because an Iraqi had been trying to place an explosive device up in the road ahead and had accidentally blown himself up. I wouldn't call that normal.

I think that we have huge challenges left that we're facing in Iraq, and we need to be more honest with the American people that it's going to take a lot of time, that we're going to have patience and just level with folks and say, we have a lot of work to do there.

O'BRIEN: Congressman King, you say it's 90 to 95 percent normal, but it is still so unsafe that members of Congress, such as yourself, don't even sleep there. You go to Jordan for security reasons. You know, I'm curious if you think there is any specific thing you can point to that the U.S. needs to improve on to try to get a handle on the security situation.

KING: Well, there are two things. First, as far as the normality, we should keep in mind that even in our own country, you know, back in 1969 and '70, we had 4,000 and 5,000 bombings a year. So, these things can happen.

What should be done I think is what is being done, and that is accelerate the training of the Iraqi police, the Iraqi army. There are more than 30,000 Iraqi police officers on the street now. They are deploying Iraqi troops along the Iranian border, and to get more Iraqis involved, and not to back off in the meantime.

So, this is going to be long, and it's going to be hard. There is no doubt about it. There is nothing easy about this. I think the administration has been honest. We can debate that, but the fact is, as Americans, we should go forward. And I would be the first to say that it's going to be a long, difficult fight.

But on the other hand, I'm confident we're winning. We're going to continue to win, and that we will win not just the military engagement, but the minds and hearts of the Iraqi people.

O'BRIEN: Congressman Bell, a lot of people would tell you more than anything this is a failure of U.S. intelligence to do its job. Would you go along with that?

BELL: I think there were some giant miscalculations. Having been there, we were told that the government would come up from the Iraqi people ,that the occupation would be brief, that Iraqi oil revenue would pay for the reconstruction. None that have has occurred.

But realizing that, realizing the challenges we face, we also need to point out that they are seeing some success in different parts of Iraq with the reconstruction effort. They should learn from those successes, share those successes, and make sure that everyone who is working on the reconstruction effort is knowledgeable about what is being accomplished. I think that's the only way we're going to succeed, and I would agree with Congressman King that it would be a nightmare if the United States were to pull out at this particular point in time.

O'BRIEN: Congressmen Chris Bell and Peter King, thank you both for being with us this morning.

KING: Miles, thank you.

BELL: Thank you, Miles.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.