MUSHARRAF: No. It's more dangerous. It's not safer, certainly not.
ZAHN: How so?
MUSHARRAF: Well, because it has aroused actions of the Muslims more. It's aroused certain sentiments of the Muslim world, and then the responses, the latest phenomena of explosives, more frequent for bombs and suicide bombings. This phenomenon is extremely dangerous.
ZAHN: Was it a mistake to have gone to war with Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: Well, I would say that it has ended up bringing more trouble to the world.
ZAHN: Even members of President Bush's party are saying that the United States is in trouble in Iraq and it's possible the United States won't win the war in Iraq. Is that the way you see it?
MUSHARRAF: Well, when you enter operations, you can go wrong in your calculations. That always is a possibility in any operation.
ZAHN: Has that happened in Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: Well, there are difficulties. One can't predict. Maybe the difficulties are surmounted and then it ends up with a victory, with a success. But, at the moment, we are bogged down, yes, yes indeed.
ZAHN: Are you fearful the United States will pull out before it should militarily?
MUSHARRAF: That will be a folly. They must leave a stable, territorially integrated Iraq. We have people of Iraq hard administering themselves, governing themselves, and governing their own natural resources. That must be left intact. They must not leave a disturbed area there. The disturbance can spread to other areas.
ZAHN: Do you think that the war in Iraq has undermined the overall war on terror?
MUSHARRAF: It has complicated it, certainly. I wouldn't say undermined. It has further complicated it. It has made the job more difficult.
Do you have any hard evidence: The original story was from a primary source, an officer actually there in Iraq. Certainly not conclusive in and of itself, but a valid data point none the less.
At what cost?: Yes, there are a lot of Iraqis dying, Americans too. What about the 10,000's of people dying of malnutrition each year in Iraq because of Saddam's stealing from the people prior to the War? What about the 100,000's if not millions estimated to have disappeared and died under Saddam's rule, the thousands of mass graves. Shouldn't these and other considerations be factored into the cost equation?
As compared to what? - I happen to agree with Musharraf that the world is currently not safer than, say, a year ago. I also happen to think that the world WILL be safer if we win the war on terror. What does that mean exactly? I don't know what that means to John Kerry, but to Bush it means:
- Crippling Al-Qaeda's (and other terrorists') network by capturing or killing as many as possible. They are helping us by coming to Iraq to fight us.
- Cutting of financing of terrorists.
- Keeping even SMALL quantities of WMD out of terrorists' hands.
- Confronting an enemy that is only emboldened by shows of weakness (e.g., Mogadishu).
- Planting a seed of democracy in Middle East, hoping it will be contagious. Free people are less likely to dream only of being suicide bombers. Free and prosperous people are more likely to dream of world peace instead.
Do you have any hard evidence of that? Violence in Iraq Belies Claims of Calm, Data ShowAt what cost? Iraqi civilian casualties mounting, Iraq Coalition Casualty CountAs compared to what? Paula Zahn Now transcriptZAHN: Is the world a safer place because of the war in Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: No. It's more dangerous. It's not safer, certainly not.
ZAHN: How so?
MUSHARRAF: Well, because it has aroused actions of the Muslims more. It's aroused certain sentiments of the Muslim world, and then the responses, the latest phenomena of explosives, more frequent for bombs and suicide bombings. This phenomenon is extremely dangerous.
ZAHN: Was it a mistake to have gone to war with Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: Well, I would say that it has ended up bringing more trouble to the world.
ZAHN: Even members of President Bush's party are saying that the United States is in trouble in Iraq and it's possible the United States won't win the war in Iraq. Is that the way you see it?
MUSHARRAF: Well, when you enter operations, you can go wrong in your calculations. That always is a possibility in any operation.
ZAHN: Has that happened in Iraq?
MUSHARRAF: Well, there are difficulties. One can't predict. Maybe the difficulties are surmounted and then it ends up with a victory, with a success. But, at the moment, we are bogged down, yes, yes indeed.
ZAHN: Are you fearful the United States will pull out before it should militarily?
MUSHARRAF: That will be a folly. They must leave a stable, territorially integrated Iraq. We have people of Iraq hard administering themselves, governing themselves, and governing their own natural resources. That must be left intact. They must not leave a disturbed area there. The disturbance can spread to other areas.
ZAHN: Do you think that the war in Iraq has undermined the overall war on terror?
MUSHARRAF: It has complicated it, certainly. I wouldn't say undermined. It has further complicated it. It has made the job more difficult.
Do you have any hard evidence: The original story was from a primary source, an officer actually there in Iraq. Certainly not conclusive in and of itself, but a valid data point none the less.
At what cost?: Yes, there are a lot of Iraqis dying, Americans too. What about the 10,000's of people dying of malnutrition each year in Iraq because of Saddam's stealing from the people prior to the War? What about the 100,000's if not millions estimated to have disappeared and died under Saddam's rule, the thousands of mass graves. Shouldn't these and other considerations be factored into the cost equation?
As compared to what? - I happen to agree with Musharraf that the world is currently not safer than, say, a year ago. I also happen to think that the world WILL be safer if we win the war on terror. What does that mean exactly? I don't know what that means to John Kerry, but to Bush it means:
- Crippling Al-Qaeda's (and other terrorists') network by capturing or killing as many as possible. They are helping us by coming to Iraq to fight us.
- Cutting of financing of terrorists.
- Keeping even SMALL quantities of WMD out of terrorists' hands.
- Confronting an enemy that is only emboldened by shows of weakness (e.g., Mogadishu).
- Planting a seed of democracy in Middle East, hoping it will be contagious. Free people are less likely to dream only of being suicide bombers. Free and prosperous people are more likely to dream of world peace instead.
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