Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Interview With Senator Bob Graham
Aired May 14, 2003 - 15:05 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as we've been saying, some Democrats are charging the Bush administration has not done enough. And we are joined now by Senator Bob Graham of Florida, also a presidential candidate.
Senator, I don't know if you were able to hear what John King just said, but the White House is saying this is nonsense. That they have been every bit as committed to the war on terror throughout the war in Iraq.
SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well the facts don't support that. One, beginning about a year to 14 months ago, we started to withdraw military and intelligence capabilities out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our own military says that, at the same time, we no longer were engaged in a war against terrorism, but manhunts to find individuals, but not to break the spine of al Qaeda. And we played very soft with countries like Syria because we were more interested in their vote in the Security Council for our Iraq resolution than they were concerned about the issue of Syria harboring some of the most violent terrorists in the world.
WOODRUFF: Well, Senator, in terms of this particular attack in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia says that the United States asked the Saudi government to step up security. They didn't do it. What more could the United States have done here?
GRAHAM: Well we should have been dealing with the Saudis a long time ago. They have been an uneven and unpredictable ally in the war against terror. We have submitted a report to the CIA and the FBI now almost five months ago, which talks about some of these issues of relationships, government to government. I think if the administration wants to protect the American people by giving them the information upon which they can make good decisions, they should stop stonewalling the release of our reports.
WOODRUFF: You are referring to the information pre-9/11?
GRAHAM: Well, it is an inquiry into what happened before September the 11th, but then the next question is, how well did we use the information that we gathered pre-9/11 to reduce the chances of there being another 9/11?
WOODRUFF: Senator, what do you say to the White House and other Republicans who say this is just -- you are just saying this because you are running for president. This is part of your campaign?
GRAHAM: Judy, I think if you would look at some video that CNN showed yesterday of the speech that I gave in the Senate approximately seven or eight months ago, I was raising my concern that the war in Iraq against clearly an evil person was a diversion from the war against the terrorists who are not only evil, but have a greater capability to kill Americans and, therefore, should be our number one priority.
WOODRUFF: So when they say this is all part of your campaign?
GRAHAM: I say, look, I have been raising my voice and concern over this issue well before I was considering being a candidate for president. In fact, one of the reasons why I am running for president is the way in which this administration has failed, in my judgment, to give adequate security to the American people.
WOODRUFF: Senator Bob Graham of Florida. Thanks very much for talking to us. We appreciate it.
GRAHAM: Thank you, Judy.
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 May 14, 2003 - 15:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as we've been saying, some Democrats are charging the Bush administration has not done enough. And we are joined now by Senator Bob Graham of Florida, also a presidential candidate.
Senator, I don't know if you were able to hear what John King just said, but the White House is saying this is nonsense. That they have been every bit as committed to the war on terror throughout the war in Iraq.
SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well the facts don't support that. One, beginning about a year to 14 months ago, we started to withdraw military and intelligence capabilities out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our own military says that, at the same time, we no longer were engaged in a war against terrorism, but manhunts to find individuals, but not to break the spine of al Qaeda. And we played very soft with countries like Syria because we were more interested in their vote in the Security Council for our Iraq resolution than they were concerned about the issue of Syria harboring some of the most violent terrorists in the world.
WOODRUFF: Well, Senator, in terms of this particular attack in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia says that the United States asked the Saudi government to step up security. They didn't do it. What more could the United States have done here?
GRAHAM: Well we should have been dealing with the Saudis a long time ago. They have been an uneven and unpredictable ally in the war against terror. We have submitted a report to the CIA and the FBI now almost five months ago, which talks about some of these issues of relationships, government to government. I think if the administration wants to protect the American people by giving them the information upon which they can make good decisions, they should stop stonewalling the release of our reports.
WOODRUFF: You are referring to the information pre-9/11?
GRAHAM: Well, it is an inquiry into what happened before September the 11th, but then the next question is, how well did we use the information that we gathered pre-9/11 to reduce the chances of there being another 9/11?
WOODRUFF: Senator, what do you say to the White House and other Republicans who say this is just -- you are just saying this because you are running for president. This is part of your campaign?
GRAHAM: Judy, I think if you would look at some video that CNN showed yesterday of the speech that I gave in the Senate approximately seven or eight months ago, I was raising my concern that the war in Iraq against clearly an evil person was a diversion from the war against the terrorists who are not only evil, but have a greater capability to kill Americans and, therefore, should be our number one priority.
WOODRUFF: So when they say this is all part of your campaign?
GRAHAM: I say, look, I have been raising my voice and concern over this issue well before I was considering being a candidate for president. In fact, one of the reasons why I am running for president is the way in which this administration has failed, in my judgment, to give adequate security to the American people.
WOODRUFF: Senator Bob Graham of Florida. Thanks very much for talking to us. We appreciate it.
GRAHAM: Thank you, Judy.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
