Sorry for the lack of analysis on this (I am at work), I just want to get this incredible confrontation on Daybreak this morning out there.
COSTELLO: Welcome back. It's 6:49 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.
There is a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda and 9/11. That's what Republican Representative Robin Hayes told me just minutes ago on this program. He indicated that Congress has evidence linking Saddam Hussein to 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ROBIN HAYES (R), NORTH CAROLINA: The connection between individuals who are connected to Saddam Hussein, folks who worked for him, we've seen it time and time again. But the issue is: Where are we now? Nobody disputes 9/11. They would do that again if not prevented. Preventing 9/11 wherever it might happen in America, winning the war overseas, not bringing it here to our shores is the issue in that regard.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/29/lad.03.html
COSTELLO: Time to talk to lawmakers who, after all, voted for the war and have voted and, again to pay for it.
Joining us live from Washington, Representative Robin Hayes, a Republican from North Carolina. Welcome.
REP. ROBIN HAYES (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Thank you, Carol.
Good morning.
COSTELLO: Representative Hayes, your district includes Fort Bragg, where the president made his speech.
I want to read you an e-mail from one of our viewers. Dan in California writes: "Bush really should be making this speech at Arlington National Cemetery, not at Fort Bragg."
Was it appropriate for President Bush to speak there?
HAYES: Absolutely, it was. It shows our love and appreciation for the troops and what they're doing. The president spent three hours with family members who've lost loved ones as a result of this war against terror and terrorists.
COSTELLO: But isn't he, in part, using Fort Bragg as an appropriate backdrop to cheerlead the war in Iraq?
HAYES: It's not about cheerleading the war in Iraq, it's about informing the American people of the progress that's been made. The e-mail I got from Iraq yesterday, "a time line is a terrible mistake," "we are winning," "we will win." And the stakes, the future is Western civilization and freedom around the world.
COSTELLO: President Bush said in his speech we're there to fight terrorists. But he failed to explain how a war to remove a dictator bent on using nuclear weapons has turned into a fight against Muslim militants.
Doesn't he owe us an explanation?
HAYES: He gave us a very good explanation of what the war is about. It's winning the war against terror and people that would kill us, innocent women and children. This is about a military action against ruthless, brutal killers who have no conscience whatsoever.
COSTELLO: Well, we understand that.
HAYES: It's about destroying us.
COSTELLO: But that's not what it started out, when the United States invaded Iraq.
It's changed, hasn't it?
HAYES: I don't think it's changed at all. It's very clear that terrorists are connected to what Saddam Hussein was all about. And that again faces up to the most severe threat going forward...
COSTELLO: But there is no...
HAYES: We have to do a good job explaining...
COSTELLO: ... evidence that Saddam Hussein was connected in any way to al Qaeda.
HAYES: Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. There's evidence everywhere. We get access to it, unfortunately others don't. But the evidence is very clear.
COSTELLO: What evidence is there?
HAYES: The connection between individuals who were connected to Saddam Hussein, folks who worked for him, we've seen it time and time again. But the issue is where are we now. Nobody disputes 9/11. They would do that again if not prevented. Preventing 9/11 wherever it might happen in America, winning the war overseas, not bringing it here to our shores, is the issue in that regard.
COSTELLO: Well, are you saying that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11?
HAYES: I'm saying that Saddam Hussein -- and I think you're losing track of what we're trying to talk about here -- Saddam Hussein and people like him were very much involved in 9/11. Did he make the phone call and say...
COSTELLO: There's no evidence of that.
HAYES: Well, I'm sorry, you haven't looked in the right places.
COSTELLO: I must not have, because I know of no evidence connecting Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden or al Qaeda. And, also, there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And many people writing to us this morning wanted the president to explain those things.
HAYES: Well, we would be glad to explain it. I'd love to talk to those people face-to-face because hundreds of thousands of Kurds were gassed and killed, biological weapons were used. Fortunately, nuclear weapons weren't there. That's one smoking gun we didn't find. But it's very clear he would have used it if he could. The terrorists that remain would clearly use nuclear, biological, chemical, any other kind of weapon to destroy you, me and our families.
COSTELLO: All right, well, let me ask you this, because taxpayers are doling out in excess of $400 billion to pay for this war. You have the power when it comes to this.
Is there a time when you will say enough?
HAYES: I will say enough when we have victory against terror and terrorists. We are winning the war in Iraq. A time line is a terrible idea. That came directly from the people who are fighting the war. Progress is being made. The men and women are doing a fabulous job. There's a time line clearly with a constitution and elections being held. We stand down as they stand up. Progress is being made every day in the strength and confidence of the Iraqi security forces. That's what brings our men and women home. And the stake is our future and our children's future.
COSTELLO: A final question.
Do you feel safer here because of the war in Iraq? Is that preventing terrorist attacks in the United States?
HAYES: Absolutely. Well, we haven't had an attack since 9/11, and that's what we're here to prevent. And I absolutely do feel safer. If not now, when? If not here, where? And better in Iraq than in America.
COSTELLO: Representative Hayes, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
We appreciate it.
HAYES: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Now for reaction from the other side.
Represent Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California.
Good morning.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: Good morning, Carol.
It's great to be with you.
COSTELLO: Oh, we're glad you're here with us.
SCHIFF: Thank you.
COSTELLO: I'd like to ask you the same question I asked of Representative Hayes. So far, $400 billion has been earmarked for Iraq. The Democrats have approved it.
When is enough enough?
SCHIFF: Well, we have to make sure that our troops have all the support that they need to do their job and come home safely. So we need to make sure that we've corrected deficiencies in up armored vehicles, and that costs money.
The fact of the matter is we have to prevail in Iraq, as difficult as that's going to be. And I agree with the president, we can't set a timetable. I think that would only advantage the insurgents.
At the same time, I would have liked to have heard the president last night talk very candidly about the challenges that we're facing in Iraq, greater than, I think, many assumed at the outset. And I think it's very important for the president to level that way with the American people. Let them know this is going to be long and it's going to be hard. That, I think, is key to maintaining public support.
The other thing I would have liked to hear...
COSTELLO: But surely you have studied this.
I mean how long will it take? How long will we be there? He says we'll be there until Iraqi forces are trained and can take over security.
But when will that be? Nobody seems to know.
SCHIFF: Well, it's clear that it's not going to be the very near future. We're not in the last throes of the insurgency, much as we would all wish that was the case.
But the reality is we should stop talking about an exit strategy and start talking about an entrance strategy. How do we get the Sunnis to enter into the government, get out of the insurgency business? How do we get our allies to enter into a common effort in Iraq in a much more substantial way, get them to guard the borders of Iraq and keep these foreign fighters out of the country?
These are the kind of strategic things that I think we need to be talking about. I would have liked to have heard the president last night talk about how he is adapting -- the insurgency is adapting. How are we adapting our military and political effort in Iraq to beat the insurgents? These are the things that I think the American people are hungering to hear about, to know how we're going to defeat the insurgents, how we're changing our tactics, how we're improving on the ground. And I wish we had heard a little more about that last night.
COSTELLO: Well, let me read you this e-mail that we got from one of our viewers, Bill from Virginia. He writes: "The president controls the message, the environment. Dissenters are smeared as traitors. Some charge Democrats are weak on terrorism if they speak out strongly against this fight."
Isn't it time to say so what and to start speaking strongly and to start changing the way the administration does things in Iraq? And how can you do that when you don't seem to have the political power behind you to get that done?
SCHIFF: I think all the Democratic members need to speak out very strongly. And certainly there's no uniformity of opinion with either the Democratic or Republican Party. We saw some Democrats and Republicans last week call for a timetable. Again, I don't think that's the right approach.
But clearly we need to, I think, speak out in support of our men and women in uniform that are over there. I'd like to see us talk about the shared sacrifice that the whole country ought to be making in this war effort. Right now, Carol, the only people that are sacrificing are those in uniform and their families. The rest of us should be called upon to do our part.
Each of us should adopt a military family in our district, make sure they have everything they need while their loved one is fighting for us in Afghanistan, in Iraq. And we can't forget Afghanistan, particularly in light of the tragic news of the downing of that helicopter and the increase in combat in Afghanistan lately.
But we should all be adopting a military family, making sure that they have what they need. And more than that, we should be paying the cost of the Iraq war and not passing that onto our kids. And I would like to hear the president talk about all of us sharing in the sacrifice. The country really hungers to do its part and there's plenty for us to do.
COSTELLO: Representative Schiff, Thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
SCHIFF: Thank you, Carol.