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Interview With Congressman Jim Kolbe

Aired August 25, 2003 - 15:21   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: U.S. warplanes joined Afghan troops and U.S. special operations forces in an attack today on suspected Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Pentagon officials say that 14 Taliban fighters were killed. Afghan leaders say, more than 40 Taliban died in the strike about 200 miles south of Kabul. Today's attack followed a recent upsurge in raids followed by Taliban forces against Afghan police and civilians.
Well, with me now, as you just saw, to talk more about U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Iraq is Republican Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona. He was part of a congressional delegation that just returned from both countries.

Congressman, first about Iraq. Your Arizona colleague, Senator John McCain, is saying that there has to be more U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Do you agree with him?

REP. JIM KOLBE (R), ARIZONA: Well, I'm prepared to let the military commanders make that decision.

We have to tell them what the objectives are, what things need to be guarded, what we expect them to do, whether it's civil action, what it is, and then let the generals tell us what the troops that they need for the are. But I tend to agree with Ambassador Bremer, that the key thing is to get Iraqis on the ground to replace Americans in the police-keeping role there. The Iraqis...

WOODRUFF: But can the United States wait for that? That is going to take time.

KOLBE: It is going to take time, but I think we have to do that. We've got to get that done as quickly as possible, because, frankly, the Iraqis are happy we overthrew Saddam Hussein, but they want their country back as quickly as possible.

And the more they see Americans there and the fact that there's still violence on the streets, that there's thefts, carjackings going on, and they're not being protected from that, they're getting very frustrated.

WOODRUFF: It almost sounds like you're arguing for a smaller U.S. presence.

KOLBE: No, not a smaller U.S. presence. I think we just need to use our forces in the right way. We need to do the kind of combat operations that we're talking about.

But the police on the street, the people patrolling in Baghdad, it's got to be Iraqis that do that.

WOODRUFF: Senator Joe Biden has said in the last couple of days, there is going to be, he said, several hundred billion dollars needed over the next few years to secure and rebuild Iraq. Are the American people -- and your Republican colleagues in Congress prepared to spend that kind of money?

KOLBE: Well, we hope that's not all going to be coming from the United States. There is oil money. And we do hope there's going to be some -- we have some seized assets, and we hope there's going to be some funds coming from our countries.

But there's no doubt in my mind that it's going to take a great deal, whether it's several hundred billion. Ambassador Bremer has said $50 billion to $100 billion. It's going to be much more than the administration is talking about right now. It looks like what we're going to ask for in reconstruction in a supplemental for 2004 is going to be about $1.5 billion. And that's just a drop in the bucket.

WOODRUFF: Well, let me just cite to you a poll. There was a CNN/"TIME" poll just done in the last few days showing almost 60 percent of Americans think the current cost of the occupation, which, as you know, is about $1 billion a week, is just not acceptable, especially as you have more U.S. troops and others dying every day over there.

KOLBE: Well, let's put that, though, in the context.

We're spending $1 billion -- $48 billion, $50 billion a year on the military side. And we're spending $1.5 billion on the reconstruction. We got our priorities wrong. We need to be putting a lot more into the reconstruction to get the services back. We have a very -- the impression I come away from is that we have a very narrow window that's left to us in Iraq. And if we don't move within that time, there will be an unbelievable amount of violence and reaction against the United States forces.

We have to move to restore basic services. That's going to take some money, and we've got to get that done quickly.

WOODRUFF: All right, let me ask you about Afghanistan. You spent a day in that country, you said, from morning until night. What's the message you come back with for the American people?

KOLBE: Well, the message that I come back with for the American people is that we're doing the right thing. We're on the right track there.

Ironically, in Iraq, it's that they want the Americans out of there as quickly as possible. In Afghanistan, they're worried that we're going to pull out too fast. They want us there. They want us to keep the warring factions apart. And so we're very much wanted in Afghanistan. There's no doubt there's a Taliban movement coming back across the border. And the message that we got from President Karzai was, to the Pakistanis, tell the Pakistanis to stop them, to control that border. And, of course, President Karzai says: I'm trying, I'm trying.

WOODRUFF: Is the U.S. doing enough in Afghanistan right now?

KOLBE: We need to do some more things in Afghanistan, but I think we have the right approach to it in Afghanistan, that we have the right forces there. We have adequate numbers of forces, I believe, in Afghanistan.

There again, it's training. We're in the process of training an Afghan army. It's taking some time. But we visited, for example, the Afghan training center, the army training center. And they're doing some -- they're getting some good people. They're getting well- trained people there. We need a national Afghanistan army.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jim Kolbe, congressman from Arizona, just back from both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congressman, it's good to see you.

KOLBE: Thank you very much, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thank you for coming by. We appreciate it.

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 August 25, 2003 - 15:21   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. warplanes joined Afghan troops and U.S. special operations forces in an attack today on suspected Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Pentagon officials say that 14 Taliban fighters were killed. Afghan leaders say, more than 40 Taliban died in the strike about 200 miles south of Kabul. Today's attack followed a recent upsurge in raids followed by Taliban forces against Afghan police and civilians.
Well, with me now, as you just saw, to talk more about U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Iraq is Republican Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona. He was part of a congressional delegation that just returned from both countries.

Congressman, first about Iraq. Your Arizona colleague, Senator John McCain, is saying that there has to be more U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Do you agree with him?

REP. JIM KOLBE (R), ARIZONA: Well, I'm prepared to let the military commanders make that decision.

We have to tell them what the objectives are, what things need to be guarded, what we expect them to do, whether it's civil action, what it is, and then let the generals tell us what the troops that they need for the are. But I tend to agree with Ambassador Bremer, that the key thing is to get Iraqis on the ground to replace Americans in the police-keeping role there. The Iraqis...

WOODRUFF: But can the United States wait for that? That is going to take time.

KOLBE: It is going to take time, but I think we have to do that. We've got to get that done as quickly as possible, because, frankly, the Iraqis are happy we overthrew Saddam Hussein, but they want their country back as quickly as possible.

And the more they see Americans there and the fact that there's still violence on the streets, that there's thefts, carjackings going on, and they're not being protected from that, they're getting very frustrated.

WOODRUFF: It almost sounds like you're arguing for a smaller U.S. presence.

KOLBE: No, not a smaller U.S. presence. I think we just need to use our forces in the right way. We need to do the kind of combat operations that we're talking about.

But the police on the street, the people patrolling in Baghdad, it's got to be Iraqis that do that.

WOODRUFF: Senator Joe Biden has said in the last couple of days, there is going to be, he said, several hundred billion dollars needed over the next few years to secure and rebuild Iraq. Are the American people -- and your Republican colleagues in Congress prepared to spend that kind of money?

KOLBE: Well, we hope that's not all going to be coming from the United States. There is oil money. And we do hope there's going to be some -- we have some seized assets, and we hope there's going to be some funds coming from our countries.

But there's no doubt in my mind that it's going to take a great deal, whether it's several hundred billion. Ambassador Bremer has said $50 billion to $100 billion. It's going to be much more than the administration is talking about right now. It looks like what we're going to ask for in reconstruction in a supplemental for 2004 is going to be about $1.5 billion. And that's just a drop in the bucket.

WOODRUFF: Well, let me just cite to you a poll. There was a CNN/"TIME" poll just done in the last few days showing almost 60 percent of Americans think the current cost of the occupation, which, as you know, is about $1 billion a week, is just not acceptable, especially as you have more U.S. troops and others dying every day over there.

KOLBE: Well, let's put that, though, in the context.

We're spending $1 billion -- $48 billion, $50 billion a year on the military side. And we're spending $1.5 billion on the reconstruction. We got our priorities wrong. We need to be putting a lot more into the reconstruction to get the services back. We have a very -- the impression I come away from is that we have a very narrow window that's left to us in Iraq. And if we don't move within that time, there will be an unbelievable amount of violence and reaction against the United States forces.

We have to move to restore basic services. That's going to take some money, and we've got to get that done quickly.

WOODRUFF: All right, let me ask you about Afghanistan. You spent a day in that country, you said, from morning until night. What's the message you come back with for the American people?

KOLBE: Well, the message that I come back with for the American people is that we're doing the right thing. We're on the right track there.

Ironically, in Iraq, it's that they want the Americans out of there as quickly as possible. In Afghanistan, they're worried that we're going to pull out too fast. They want us there. They want us to keep the warring factions apart. And so we're very much wanted in Afghanistan. There's no doubt there's a Taliban movement coming back across the border. And the message that we got from President Karzai was, to the Pakistanis, tell the Pakistanis to stop them, to control that border. And, of course, President Karzai says: I'm trying, I'm trying.

WOODRUFF: Is the U.S. doing enough in Afghanistan right now?

KOLBE: We need to do some more things in Afghanistan, but I think we have the right approach to it in Afghanistan, that we have the right forces there. We have adequate numbers of forces, I believe, in Afghanistan.

There again, it's training. We're in the process of training an Afghan army. It's taking some time. But we visited, for example, the Afghan training center, the army training center. And they're doing some -- they're getting some good people. They're getting well- trained people there. We need a national Afghanistan army.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jim Kolbe, congressman from Arizona, just back from both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Congressman, it's good to see you.

KOLBE: Thank you very much, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thank you for coming by. We appreciate it.

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