Can Hezbollah be Swayed?

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

By Gretchen Carlson, Fox News

July 21, 2006

Transcript

Gretchen: The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah appearing on Aljazeera T.V., very much alive after Israel tried to take him out with twenty-three tons of explosives the other day. Nasrallah warning Israeli troops that there are quote, “surprises in store for them,” if they in fact invade Lebanon. Meantime the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is taking a delegation to Israel. We’re talking to former Indiana congressman and a member of the 9/11 Commission, Tim Roemer. Good to see you Congressman.

Tim Roemer: Thank you Gretchen.

Gretchen: I want to talk to you about the pictures that we’ve been showing here live for the last couple of minutes on Fox News. I’m sure that you’ve had a chance to see them: these tanks, lining up, one by one, dozens by dozens, Israeli tanks in preparation potentially for a ground invasion in Lebanon. Do you think these pictures alone are sufficient enough to warn Hezbollah to back off?

Tim Roemer: I don’t think that the Israelis are lining those tanks and calling up three thousand reserves, Gretchen, that this is just a diplomatic picture show. I think that they probably are prepared. We’ve certainly been hearing different reports over the last several days that maybe the air strikes by themselves, by Israel were not achieving the mission: the tactical and strategic missions of taking out all of the Hezbollah’s infrastructure there. I think you guys have had interviews this morning with the Israeli Defense Force that says that they’re prepared to go.

Gretchen: You know the Hezbollah leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah seems to be shrugging off concerns about any kind of a ground invasion. He was on Aljazeera T.V. vowing never to release those two Israeli soldiers that Hezbollah captured, “even if the whole universe comes against us,” he said. He also said that he has surprises in store for Israel, if in fact they invade by ground. I mean is this guy, is he just a nut? I mean does he want the whole world to come after him?

Tim Roemer: Well the surprises he talks about, the sources that I talked to say that if the Israelis go into southern Lebanon—Bill Hemmer was very articulate about what the strategy might be, and what the cost, and the trepidation from the Israeli people also might include. What we encounter there, what we may see on the pictures, and encounter there, would be tank traps and ambushes, maybe more Katyusha rockets. I’m sure the intelligence from the Israeli side is trying to target infrastructure and tunnels where they might go to try to make sure that what they could not get by air is sufficiently degraded on the ground. The likelihood of encountering weapons of mass destruction; those things have a return address on them. And if somehow Hezbollah uses weapons of mass destruction on the Israeli forces, the IDF in interviews earlier said that they didn’t expect it but if it were used, if that kind of a WMD was used against the Israelis I think with that there would be with that a return address: very, very strong and overwhelming response to something like that.

Gretchen: You’re talking, of course, about the Israeli government and military not expecting weapons of mass destruction from Hezbollah. But in fact—

Tim Roemer: That’s what your IDF interviews this morning, had indicated.

Gretchen: Right. Exactly. But contrary to that, our own Shepard Smith last night was reporting on Gretta’s show that the Israeli government, a source there was saying that in fact Hezbollah may in fact have chemical weapons, and may in fact use them. That obviously escalates this to a whole other level.

Tim Roemer: Well we don’t know, and certainly with that return address on it there is an overwhelming response on the part of Israel. I’m delighted to see that Secretary of State Rice has indicated that she is going to go into this region by Sunday. I think we’ve been on the sidelines so far on this as a superpower, that’s not I don’t think a sign of strength at this point. And when she does go there maybe she can try to achieve a couple of perspectives and objectives. One: try to make sure, seeing if Israel can obtain its tactical and strategic objectives minimizing civilian death both on the Israeli side and the Lebanese side. Two: try to make sure that we rebuild relationships with the Lebanese government. Here’s a moderate democratic government and the Lebanese Prime Minister is appealing for help because his infrastructure is getting torn apart. We have to make sure that we do provide the Lebanese government with the support that they have long-term to make sure that Hezbollah does not come back. And third I think Gretchen, it’s important that the United States continues to reach out to this umbrella of Arab nations that were speaking out on our side before maybe a land invasion. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, were all condemning Hezbollah for coming across the Israeli border and taking two soldiers. We’ve got to make sure that they say on our side and that the hearts and minds struggle we see here, doesn’t turn into one where in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and other countries, more and more recruits line up to come after the United States, and Israel and other people in the long-term war of Islamic jihadism.

Gretchen: Yeah, but at the same time, I mean there seems to be so many conflicting statements, opinions, as one would expect in this kind of crisis, but you know the Prime Minister of Lebanon also saying that the Lebanese government and military may join forces with Hezbollah, if Israel invades by ground. So, you know, what do you expect Condoleezza Rice to succeed at when she goes there on Sunday?

Tim Roemer: Well it’s better late than never. President Bush actually had a great line yesterday, at the NAACP, he joked using his good sense of humor, “it’s about time I got here.” It’s about time the United States got into the Middle East. We have not been paying enough attention to that that region. We have been encumbered and overwhelmed in Iraq. We have not pursued the peace plan there—

Gretchen: So Congressman, I’m assuming that you’re saying that we should have gone before Sunday.

Tim Roemer: I think that the United States at least could have been in the region talking to try to isolate countries like Iran, trying to put more pressure on Syria, try to reach out to the world our concern about Israeli civilians that are being killed, Lebanese civilians that are being killed, and trying to put forward the diplomatic underpinnings for some kind of solution long-term to getting right at Hezbollah, trying to strengthen the Lebanese government, and trying to follow through on the U.N. resolution of two years ago that said that we have to root out Hezbollah from this area, but nobody ever really followed through to implement a strategy to achieve that objective of this terrorist group.

Gretchen: Congressman Roemer, all this will be food for fodder for many weeks to come no doubt, and we’ll talk to you again soon.

Tim Roemer: I’ll look forward to it, thank you Gretchen.

Gretchen: You’re welcome.

###