STANDING UP TO THE WAR WHORE

Yee, I'm talking about Laura Ingraham. Chrish of Fox News Hounds has the video clip of Ingraham taking on Susan Rice, one of Obama's foreign policy advisers and here's the transcript. WWI met her match.

June 18, 2008 Wednesday
SHOW: THE BIG STORY WITH JOHN GIBSON 5:00 PM EST
JUST IN for June 18, 2008
BYLINE: Laura Ingraham, Susan Rice, Griff Jenkins, Michelle Malkin, Brit Hume
GUESTS: Brian Rooney, Jennifer Palmieri, Mike Pence, Dennis Briggs, Mike Knox, Zachary Runningwolf, Tony Bailey, Diane Bailey
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 7206 words

INGRAHAM:...And joining me now is Susan Rice, senior foreign policy adviser to the Obama
campaign.

Susan, it's great to see you.

SUSAN RICE, OBAMA SR. FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR: Laura, it's good to be with you but I don't know where to go after back wax.

INGRAHAM: I know. That's kind of a bad segue, but what can you do? It's politics and the culture on this show.

Susan, I know you're foreign policy and that's your focus, but any more clarification on that head scarf issue, you know, removing people from a camera shot? That doesn't seem all that post racial to some of us.

RICE: Well, I think you heard from the campaign that that was absolutely unacceptable. What the volunteers did is absolutely not campaign policy. It's offensive to all Americans. And the campaign has apologized, as well we should have.

INGRAHAM: Let's move on to some of the comments that were made by the Iraqi foreign minister after Senator Obama's conversation with him earlier this week. Senator Obama came out and said, "I'm encouraged by some of the progress in Iraq," but obviously, it was not going to change his mind on withdrawal.

The foreign minister said this, he said, "My message to Mr. Obama was very clear. Really, we are making progress. And I hope any actions you will take will not endanger this progress."

And Susan, from what I understand from what Senator Obama said, they didn't really have that kind of conversation but the foreign minister seems to beg to differ.

RICE: Well, Laura, I think, frankly, there's no difference of readout here. Senator Obama has always maintained that we will be as responsible and careful getting out of Iraq as George Bush was careless getting us in. We will withdraw our forces at a reasonable pace of roughly one to two combat brigades a month. We'll consult in advance with the Iraqi government as Senator Obama has said on the number of occasions. And we will do this in a careful fashion.

Obviously, it is in our mutual interest to use the fact of American withdrawal to try to support the Iraqis and encourage them make the sort of political accommodations and reconciliations that they've refused to make so far. And that's at the heart of the Iraq's civil conflict. It's a political problem. It can't be resolved militarily and to the extent we can support them politically, as we withdraw, we will enhance the security and stability of Iraq.

INGRAHAM: Well, you're not saying that the foreign minister was supportive of the idea of a 16-month period of withdrawal though -- you're not saying that, are you?

RICE: The foreign minister understood Senator Obama's position about responsible redeployment.

INGRAHAM: But he disagrees with it clearly, right? I mean, he disagrees with it. He hasn't think that probably it is a way to go.

RICE: But no, frankly, Laura, it's the Iraqi government that had said clearly -- they don't want permanent U.S. bases. They don't want the American military to stay in their country indefinitely.

INGRAHAM: That's a different (INAUDIBLE).

RICE: They understand that the American military will be withdrawing and that we will leave behind a residual to help protect our embassy and civilians and engage in counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda. And if the Iraqi parties make political progress, we'll continue the training.

INGRAHAM: Well, they are making political progress.

RICE: No, they are not making political progress yet. But we'll continue the training.

INGRAHAM: Well, they absolutely are. We are making progress on all fronts and even the "Associated Press" had to report that yesterday when they talked about the security gains.

But let's not move on.

RICE: Security gains - no, let's not move on because this is important. Security gains have been made.

INGRAHAM: It is important.

RICE: But the point of the surge, Laura, was to create the political space so that the Iraqis can reconcile. That's how the surge happened.

INGRAHAM: The point of the surge is to win. The point of the surge is to win.

RICE: The point of the surge is - but the definition of winning, the definition of winning as provided by George Bush when he launched the surge was political reconciliation.

INGRAHAM: Yes, but -- does the Obama campaign want us to win in Iraq or have you guys concluded that we can't, there's just no way?

RICE: The Obama campaign believes that it was a massive strategic blunder of historic proportion to get in to. Can I finish my sentence?

INGRAHAM: Sure. I'd just answer a yes or no question.

RICE: To get into Iraq and that we have to be responsible getting out and maximize the chances of a successful outcome in Iraq. But when you make a massive strategic blunder, you certainly reduce the chances of a successful outcome.

INGRAHAM: You don't want to compound.

RICE: Absolutely, every American wants to succeed in Iraq. But success is difficult.

INGRAHAM: Well, we are succeeding.

RICE: Well, Laura, what's the definition of success? George Bush says it's political progress.

INGRAHAM: How about security improving and the people being more optimistic?

RICE: That's very important.

INGRAHAM: Isn't there club med setting up in Kurdistan? We'd just read something in the "Washington Times" today, it's like $4.60 billion development project -- homes and apartments and hotels. It's not bad.

RICE: I'm sure you'll be looking forward to taking your vacation there soon.

INGRAHAM: I wouldn't mind actually. It sounds pretty good because considering the housing prices in the United States.

One final point, on MSNBC this morning, Susan, you called President Bush's foreign policy "stupid" and that McCain would essentially continue that. Do you think that's all that helpful? I mean, stupid and then Danzig said something about "Winnie the Pooh" foreign policy. I mean, this kind of seems silly at some point.

RICE: You know, the McCain campaign called Barack Obama delusional and naive. What is stupid, Laura, is a foreign policy that's left us less safe. Invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

INGRAHAM: We haven't been attacked in seven years.

RICE: Losing 4,000 thousand American lives and spending $1 trillion on the war that had nothing to do with 9/11. While the people who committed 9/11.

INGRAHAM: And I know you're on those talking points, but things are changing.

RICE: No, this is the world, Laura. The world is that Osama bin Laden.

INGRAHAM: Facts change though.

RICE: Al-Zawahiri is free, and America is less safe. That will change when Barack Obama is president.

INGRAHAM: Well, Susan, I really appreciate your joining us. I know it sounds like a tough monologue and tough questions but you stand up for coming in.

RICE: I'm glad to be with you.

INGRAHAM: We really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.