American Morning

Good morning, gentlemen. Nice to see you as always.

VICTOR KAMBER, KAMBER GROUP: Good morning.

Let’s talk about what Condoleezza Rice had to say this morning, because really, she’s been working her way through the Middle East this weekend. First, she announced a carrot and stick approach; $40 million going within the next three months to the Palestinians. Also, a new security coordinator position, which would help coordinate security efforts and issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Do you think, Cliff, that this is enough at this point?

CLIFF MAY, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY: Oh, it’s never enough, but it’s — these are all steps forward. And in the Middle East, as you well know, if you can make two steps forward, with only one step back, you’re making progress. We’ve been at this for more than 50 years. It is a difficult situation.

This is a hopeful time. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m optimistic, but I’m hopeful. It is possible that at this point, the Palestinians, under Abbas — may be willing to say, all right, we have to live side by side with Israel. We don’t want to, but we will because this war cannot go on for another 100 years. We don’t know that yet.

I think, look, what Condi Rice is doing, what the administration is doing is what people like my friend Victor have been arguing for. They’re very much engaged in the process and are trying very hard best they can, to push the process forward.

O’BRIEN: Engaged, Victor, but not necessarily, at least this point, taking a leadership role. Do you think it’s a big loss there?

KAMBER: Well, I’d like to associate myself with Cliff’s remarks. They’re engaged, as opposed to a deaf ear, which I think happened for the first four years. The fact is, they’re trying, they’re willing to put some money up. As opposed to bullets or as opposed to ignoring the situation.

Would I like to see more? Probably. But at least it’s a step forward. At least the parties are talking and we’re in encouraging it. I don’t know a that we can ask for any more at this point, given this administration.

MAY: Soledad, you talk about a leadership role. I think it’s important that we not be too much out front. The two parties have to want this and they have to be willing to make the compromises to get it. We can’t make those compromises for them. We can’t force them to do that. They have to be pushed in the leadership role at the end of the day.

O’BRIEN: Let’s talk a little bit, changing gears, about what Secretary Rumsfeld had to say over the weekend. He says, 136,000 Iraqi troops are actually up and ready to go, although he called some of them green as grass, which isn’t exactly confidence inspiring.

Victor, take a stab at this one. Do you think it’s mistake for Democrats, especially, to be asking for a timeline when, frankly, the Iraqi troop strength is a big question mark?

KAMBER: I think you’re asking two questions. Clearly, the numbers that were given, I have no confidence in. The fact that there’s 136,000 numbers doesn’t mean anything in terms — if there are truly that many numbers, they’re trained, capable, able to handle the situation.

And if they are, it’s even more frightening, because that means we’re talking about 275,000 or 300,000 troops there between Americans and Iraqis and we still have the problems.

In terms of the second part of your question, timeline, I think that what we need is a plan to end the hostilities, a plan that would bring in the rest of the world to help with the peacekeeping, a plan that would allow us to exit Iraq. Do I want a specific timetable? I probably do not, because I think there will be mass executions there, but I think we clearly, absolutely need a plan to extricate ourselves from Iraq.

MAY: What we’re doing, Soledad, in Iraq is not peacekeeping. It’s war fighting. When people ask for an exit strategy, they’re making a big mistake. Would anyone have asked FDR, during World War II, what’s your exit strategy from Europe or the Pacific? An exit strategy doesn’t work. We need a strategy for victory or a strategy for defeat.

If it’s a strategy for victory, we stay there as long as Zarqawi and other al Qaeda terrorists, as long as Ba’athists are fighting us and fighting the Iraqis. We fight our enemies wherever they are. Right now, most of them, the worst of them seem to be in Iraq. We stay there until we defeat them.

KAMBER: If we’re calling this a war, ala World War II, let’s be honest with the American people and say that. We haven’t been honest. We’ve talked about a cleanup strategy, we’ve talked about an insurrection. We’ve talked about getting some terrorists. We’ve never outright said we’re in a war, we’re in a war to stay until we’ve won war.

MAY: Let me say it, and let me urge others to say it: We are in a war against terrorism, which really means a war against radical Islamic fascism. That war’s front line right now is in Iraq. Zarqawi, the al Qaeda representative there, he knows it. I know it. I think you know it. I hope the administration knows it. Let’s agree on that.

O’BRIEN: You guys, that’s the final word this morning. Victor Kamber and Cliff May, nice to see you as always. Appreciate it.

KAMBER: Thank you.

MAY: Thank you.