HAGEL ON PRES. FREDO

I know this has made the rounds but I think it's good to have the transcript handy. Crooks & Liars has the video clip.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Off-camera) Well then just to be clear, though, you cannot accept what the House passed. Would you vote to strip those conditions from the legislation?

SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL (FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE)

I would want to see what in the end I have to vote on. Let me put it this way, I will not accept the status quo. I will not continue to support with my vote the status quo. I am opposed to the president's current policy. I am opposed to the president's further escalation of America's military involvement. We are undermining our interest in the Middle East. We are undermining our military. We're undermining the confidence of people around the world in what we're doing. We have clearly a situation where the president has lost the confidence of the American people in his war effort. It is now time, going into the fifth year, of that effort for the Congress to step forward and be part of setting some boundaries and some conditions as far as our involvement.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Off-camera) But you know, and the White House has argued, Stephen Hadley was here last week that right now we're actually seeing the increase in forces actually start to deliver some results in Baghdad. Don't you see that at all?

SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL (FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE)

No, I don't see that. In fact, there are more incidents, not less. Sure, in parts of Baghdad in overall Baghdad over the last two or three weeks, we have seen some fewer, but not around the country. Look at what happened two days ago, one of the two vice presidents of Iraq was attacked there at his own compound and is lying mortally wounded in a hospital. No, it isn't getting any less dangerous, and the fact is that was predictable. The more American troops you flood into a zone, sure, you're going to see some immediate effect of that but that has nothing to do with the long-term or lasting effect. This solution in Iraq is not going to come by continuing to put more and more Americans in there because we're bogging ourselves down. We are further eroding our credibility and stature in the Middle East. It's going to make it more and more difficult for us to get out because we are going to have to get out. You know, we have the Inspector General testifying, our Inspector General, Mr. Bowen, he was testifying before the Congress this week. I met with him alone for an hour and a half. He reminded all of us that we have now spent almost a half a trillion dollars in Iraq. We have put at least 40 billion in economic development there, which we don't know what we got out of it. There's still no oil law. Billions of dollars have been ripped off, unaccounted for and one more point on this, over $12 billion of Iraqi money still sits in the accounts of the Iraqi government that they haven't spent. So something has to give here, George.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Off-camera) It is clear to me that you are angry about this and you also gave an interview to "Esquire" magazine this month, the April edition of "Esquire" magazine where you were quoted as saying.

GRAPHICS: IMPEACHMENT?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Voiceover) The president says I don't care. He's not accountable anymore. He's not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over you might see calls for his impeachment.

SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL (FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE)

Well, any president who says I don't care or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed, if a president really believes that, then there are what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that. This is not a monarchy.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Off-camera) And you think that would be appropriate in this case?

SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL (FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE)

I'm sorry?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Off-camera) Do you think that would be appropriate in this case?

SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL (FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE)

I didn't say that. I didn't call for it. I didn't predict it. What I was saying - I was laying out options here. No president can dictate to this country, nor should he. This is a constitutional form of government. We have three equal branches of government. No president is bigger than the other two. There are three coequal branches of government. Article 1 of the Constitution is not the presidency. It's the Congress. So what I was pointing out, George, is that there are ways to deal with this and I would hope the president understands that. I mean, his comments this weekend, yesterday in his radio address were astounding to me. Saying to the Congress in effect, you don't belong in this. I'm in charge of Iraq.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)

(Off-camera) You're talking about the US Attorney controversy.

SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL (FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE)

No. I'm talking about what he was referring to specifically in his radio address about what the House of Representatives did on Friday.


SOURCE:

Copyright 2007 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
ABC News Transcript
SHOW: THIS WEEK 10:01 AM EST
March 25, 2007 Sunday
LENGTH: 3081 words
HEADLINE: HEADLINER;
SENATOR CHUCK HAGEL
ANCHORS: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
REPORTERS: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (WASHINGTON, DC USA)