Transcript Excerpt: Sen. John McCain

Read A Transcript Excerpt Of Scott Pelley's Interview With Sen. McCain

(CBS) 
PELLEY: If the American people elect you President of the United States, what can they expect in Iraq from your administration?

MCCAIN: By the time I'm inaugurated as President, we will probably have a very good handle on whether we've succeeded or failed in Iraq. What I can offer them is a lifetime of experience and knowledge and background and understanding in the nature of the evil we face, and no need for an on-the-job training and the vision and the proven record of being able to lead.

PELLEY: But if this new strategy does not work and it becomes the next President's problem, what can we expect? Do we pull at that point?

MCCAIN: By that time, this issue will have been largely decided one way or another. We will know by January of 2009 whether this strategy has succeeded or failed. If it's failed, then we are going to have a challenge of enormous consequences, because this region will be in chaos, and al-Qaeda will be based here. And we will be fighting them in many places in the world.

PELLEY: So, do we leave the region?

MCCAIN: I don't see how we can. I don't see how we can as long as we are dependent on this part of the world for so much. I'm not sure how you could accomplish that. If I know any good options to what we're doing now, I'd tell you what they are. I do believe that obviously it's diplomatic. It's economic, as well as military. You got to get the countries in the region more involved. You got to appeal to their self-interest. You've got to have, obviously, some progress towards democracy. You've got to move forward with the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. I mean, there's a whole lotta things that need to be done. You have to have the United States of America become more energy independent. There's a whole lot of issues that are associated with this part of the world.

PELLEY: You just said you need to get the other countries in the region involved. Do you directly negotiate with Syria and with Iran?

MCCAIN: I don't mind sitting down and talking to anybody. Remember, the Iranians are the people that just took 15 British sailors and marines captive, which is a gross violation of every norm of international law. They have dedicated themselves to the extinction of the State of Israel. I'm not sure what kind of a conversation to have. But should you talk to them? Sure. But I think you be careful not to legitimize them.

PELLEY: But that's where you part company with the Bush administration. You would sit down with Iran and Syria and talk to them directly?

MCCAIN: I would sit down if I could see that it leads to some beneficial result. Do you know there's 1,000 ways of communicating with Iran and Syria? Everybody has a Blackberry now in the world. It's not as if we don't have ways of communicating. It's whether we have some common ground to communicate on.

PELLEY: What happens in Iraq if the House or the Senate presently have their way and American forces are out of here in a year's time or 18 months?

MCCAIN: You know, it's not just my opinion. Even those retired generals who very much strongly oppose Secretary Rumsfeld and the strategy have said -- people like General [Anthony] Zinni and many others -- have said, look, you withdraw now and precipitously you're going to have chaos. General [Brent] Scowcroft, who opposed the Iraq War -- literally everyone agrees that you would have a chaotic situation here and genocide. And we would be back in one way or another. That's the widely-shared view. Not unanimously, but widely-shared view.

PELLEY: We've talked about the majority of Americans wanting out of Iraq at this point. I wonder at what point do you stop doing what you think is right and you start doing what the majority of the American people want?

MCCAIN: Well, again. I disagree with what the majority of the American people want. I still believe the majority of the American people, when asked, say if you can show them a path to “success” -- which is a viable government that is performing economically and militarily -- they'll support it. But suppose this strategy fails -- we'll know pretty soon -- and then, obviously, you would have to examine many other options. But failure will lead to chaos. Withdrawal will lead to chaos. So, how do you-- how do you manage that and handle it? I'm sure there are ways to attempt to do so. But I don't know of any good ones.

[tommat2008]

You say that the war was very mismanaged but what do you expect? You have an idiot for a president who lied like hell to get the U.S. into this war and he doesn't give a *** about our soldiers and the thousands he has killed and the thousands he has maimed and the millions of Iraqis he has killed and maimed & you have a terrorist for a Vice President who is arrogant and also stupid who lies like hell so that he could fullfill his promises to capture the Iraqi oil for Exxon,Mobil, Shell, BP Amoco, Chevron, etc. and then they have jackasses like you who are too stupid to know when to shut the hell up! We don't give a *** if these terrorists Bush & Cheney & the Neo-Con Commie Nazi GOP go down the drain, lopse this war which is not to fight terrorism and lose the chance to rob these poor people of their inheritance. All of you should be arrested for this grand theft and all the murders you and those animals have committed ! Impeachment is not enough but watching Bush, Cheney, Gates, Rice, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, & Wolfowicz all hang like Saddam Hussein was hung for killing only 148 Iraqis would give the world the satisfaction they all need in knowing that justice has prevailed!

[toldyouso21]

McCain, do you and your party a favor and demonstrate you are a TRUE CONSERVATIVE: don't waste millions on a failed election bid--you have made yourself un-electable and you have just become a liar second only to Bush and Cheney and co. We were sick of that in 2006..we are not likely to want it in 2008, I loathe Giuliani (adulterer = liar) and Gingrich...but both have a better chance to be President than you. Because you not only lied, you insulted us--NO ONE can talk about safety, while wearing body armor in a place where the locals are protected by nothing--and where you have hundreds as an armed escort.

As for the friendliness of the Iraqis--what did you want them to do in the face of the occupiers? Give the finger? So that the US could put them in Abu Ghraib or have a nice, night raid to their homes? Never talk about how nice someone is to you--if you are holding a gun...consider it might be fake and just to appease you. DUH!!!!