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July 21, 2008

Congressman Sestak (D-PA) Defends Obama

Hannity & Colmes

COLMES: This weekend, Barack Obama met with members of the Iraqi government to discuss his plan for troop withdrawal, but how it went is open to interpretation.

Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki was quoted in a German newspaper saying he's strongly in favor of the 16-month timetable. The statement released by his spokesman today said the prime minister's comments were lost in translation.

And joining us now is Pennsylvania congressman and Barack Obama surrogate, Joe Sestak.

Congressman, welcome to the show. Good to have you with us.

REP. JOE SESTAK (D-PA), OBAMA SUPPORTER: Good to be a board. Thanks.

COLMES: What also happened, by the way, was that the White House objected to what Maliki says. The U.S. embassy calls the Iraqi government, says, hey, we're not so pleased about that. Then they blame the translator who was Maliki's translator. It wasn't the translator of the "Spiegel," the magazine that originally published it.

SESTAK: Yes, I know. You know it's interesting. Just as Senator Obama is headed over there, four things have happened. First, we've seen John McCain move closer to his position on Afghanistan. Second we have seen the president, as was earlier stated, looking at a general horizon of time for departure.

Third we have seen Maliki, his own interpreter, say 16 months. And fourth, President Bush has sent William Burns over to Geneva.

COLMES: Right.

SESTAK: . to talk about -- you know, four things have happened, all what Senator Obama has said needs to happen.

COLMES: It's amazing. It seems like the Bush administration is following the Obama play book.

Also John McCain who keeps touting and his supporters tout foreign policy as a strong point three times in the last couple of months including the last week, mentions Czechoslovakia, which hasn't been a country since 1993. He also talked about today the border between Iraq and Pakistan, one that doesn't exist. So yet this is supposed to be a strong suit.

SESTAK: You know the biggest thing that we can say for Senator Obama is, boy, is his judgment right. I'm a former Navy admiral. I used to command and carry a battle group in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But what I know is that Senator Obama has stated that Iraq cannot be looked at solely as determined that America's overall national security. He has wisely pointed out the consequences of our strategy in Iraq.

You know today we've got 28,000 troops in South Korea. Not one brigade can protect them, because not one brigade can deploy anywhere in the world because we're not ready. And the what -- statement that most concerned me is General Hayden's, head of the CIA, when he said al Qaeda has a safe haven, a safe haven from the largest superpower in the world, and (INAUDIBLE) in Argentina, Afghanistan, Pakistan.

So while John McCain looks at Iraq, it may be determined merits of overall security.

COLMES: Yes.

SESTAK: . this senator, this Senator Obama who will be a great commander in chief says wait a moment. If the strategy is hurting America's overall fabric of national security, change the strategy so we can enhance America's overall security.

HANNITY: Hey, Congressman, it's Sean Hannity. Maybe you can explain something to our audience here, because up until last Sunday on Barack Obama's Web site, it said the surge is not working. In anticipation of his trip to Iraq, it changed to the improved security situation in Iraq.

Does that just echo my belief that he hadn't been there in 900-some- odd days, that this is just a photo op for him?

SESTAK: No, it doesn't. And look, I don't know anything about the Web site, but I do know this. Senator Obama has said that there's no way that adding 25,000 to 30,000 more troops isn't going to help some security . But the surge hasn't worked on.

HANNITY: No, he actually says -- it's not what he said in the beginning, sir. We actually have the quotes from -- when he opposed the surge. He said it can't possibly work. He said it repeatedly and often. And we laid it out for our audience.

SESTAK: But.

HANNITY: He did not say it would work.

SESTAK: And he said.

HANNITY: He said it would fail. It was wrong.

SESTAK: No, he's not, Sean. I've said it hasn't worked. It hasn't worked. Think about this.

HANNITY: No. Well, then he's saying now it is working. He said it's an improved security situation in Iraq. What is it?

SESTAK: No, what he said it hasn't worked in terms of its goals. Political accommodation. Think about this. Remember the re- Baathification, all that was passed by the parliament, yay, this is the real victory.

You know they haven't at all implemented it. They don't even have a commission to do it. In fact.

HANNITY: All right, so.

SESTAK: . the Sunnis aren't to be allowed in the defense department and the Interior department.

HANNITY: So defeat is acceptable. So defeat is acceptable. All right, let me ask you this question.

SESTAK: No, no, Sean, let me correct just one thing if you don't mind.

HANNITY: Yes.

SESTAK: What he's saying is, remember Northern Ireland where the political leaders of Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams had political accommodation and then the militias stood down? What he's saying is, the military cannot give you within political security accommodation. It hasn't.

HANNITY: Listen.

SESTAK: It hasn't worked in terms of security.

HANNITY: I have a lot of respect for Barack Obama, the community organizer who -- who thinks Iran is a tiny country, not a serious threat. Those are his words.

Here's my question to you, though.

SESTAK: Please.

HANNITY: Because he was actually -- I thought he made the right position. He hadn't been to Iraq in, you know, three years. And he said he would be willing to revise his position, listen to the commanders on the ground. Then he is excoriated by his left-wing support, and then he changed back to his original position regardless of what they say. They're going to pull the troops out.

So that tells me that the only reason they went to Iraq was for a photo opportunity for himself. He doesn't have an open mind.

SESTAK: No, no, no, Sean. Sean, he hasn't stated his -- changed position at all in about 16 months (INAUDIBLE) in Iraq. What he has said he wants to find is a tactical situation.

Sean, as you probably know, there is only one road out of Iraq, a road Tampa to Kuwait.

HANNITY: Yes. It's victory.

SESTAK: The 68 Ford operating bases there.

Sean, how many do you close at one time in order to do that safely?

HANNITY: All right, we got to run.

SESTAK: There's two stations in order to get the troops out of there.

HANNITY: Congressman.

SESTAK: How many more do we need to do it safely? That's what he's refining.

HANNITY: I think if he was honest, the community organizer would allow that professionals on the ground to give their assessment and then make the proper decision based on what they say. He went in there with a predetermined position.

SESTAK: Correct. On the assessment for Iraq's security, but no commander, military commander, should ever give the assessment for America's overall national security.

HANNITY: Got to run. Thank you, Congressman.

SESTAK: That's what a good commander in chief does.

Thanks, Sean.

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