Transcript: Obama On "Face The Nation"

(CBS)  This interview was conducted in the Oval Office by CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer:

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CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer: Mr. President, thank you for joining us. This economic crisis has been so severe that it has literally pushed all the other issues off the television, out of the newspapers. But as - when you outlined your program for Afghanistan and the new strategy, it really underlined in the starkest terms that we may not be talking about these serious issues, but there are some very serious things going on out there. So I'd like to start there -

President Obama: Please.

Schieffer: - if I could. This is a hugely ambitious plan. 22,000 more troops. You're gonna increase spending by 60 percent. You said in your announcement we must defeat al Qaeda.

President Obama: Right.

Schieffer: This has really now become your war, hasn't it?

President Obama: I think it's America's war. And it's the same war that we initiated after 9/11 as a consequence of those attacks on 3,000 Americans who were just going about their daily round. And the focus over the last seven years I think has been lost.

What we want to do is to refocus attention on al Qaeda. We are going to root out their networks, their bases. We are gonna make sure that they cannot attack U.S. citizens, U.S. soil, U.S. interests, and our allies' interests around the world.

In order for us to do that, we have to ensure that neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan can serve as a safe haven for al Qaeda. And, unfortunately, over the last several years what we've seen is, essentially, al Qaeda moving several miles from Afghanistan to Pakistan but effectively still able to project their violence and, and hateful ideologies out into the world.

Schieffer: You talked many times during your - as you outlined this strategy, about al Qaeda in Pakistan.

President Obama: Right.

Schieffer: You talk about safe havens in Pakistan.

President Obama: Right.

Schieffer: Are you giving our commanders now in Afghanistan a green light to go after these people even if they're in what used to be safe havens in Pakistan?

President Obama: Well, I haven't changed my approach. If we have a high-value target within our sights, after consulting with Pakistan, we're going after them. But our main thrust has to be to help Pakistan defeat these extremists.

Now, one of the concerns that we've had building up over the last several years is a notion I think among the average Pakistani that this is somehow America's war and that they are not invested. And that attitude I think has led to a steady creep of extremism in Pakistan that is the greatest threat to the stability of the Pakistan government - and ultimately the greatest threat to the Pakistani people.

What we want do is say to the Pakistani people, you are our friends, you are our allies. We are going to give you the tools to defeat al Qaeda and to root out these safe havens. But we also expect some accountability. And we expect that you understand the severity and the nature of the threat.

In addition, what we want do is to help Pakistan grow its economy, to be able to provide basic services to its people, and that I think will help strengthen those efforts. If the Pakistan government doesn't have credibility, if they are weakened, then it's gonna be much more difficult for them to deal with the extremism within their borders.

Schieffer: But you're talking about going after them. Are you talking about with American boots on the ground -

President Obama: No.

Schieffer: - pursuing these people into these so-called safe havens?

President Obama: No. Our plan does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government. We need to work with them and through them to deal with al Qaeda. But we have to hold them much more accountable. And we have to recognize that part of our task in working with Pakistan is not just military. It's also our capacity to build their capacity through civilian interventions, through development, through aid assistance. And that's part of what you're seeing - both in Afghanistan and Pakistan I think is fully resourcing a comprehensive strategy that doesn't just rely on bullets or bombs but also relies on agricultural specialists on doctors, on engineers, to help create an environment in which people recognize that they have much more at stake in partnering with us and the international community than giving into some of these -

Schieffer: Help me out here -

President Obama: - extremist ideologies.

Schieffer: How do you - what if they can't do it? What if they won't do it? I mean, we have reports now about members of Pakistan's intelligence service actually actively helping the Taliban and al Qaeda.

President Obama: Well, some -

Schieffer: What if they don't do it?

President Obama: Some of those reports aren't new. There are a whole host of contingencies that we've gotta deal with. I mean, this is gonna be hard, Bob. I'm under no illusions. If it was easy, it would have already been completed. And so we're gonna have to go with a strategy that is focused, that is narrowly targeted on defeating al Qaeda. We think that if you combine military, civilian, diplomatic, development approaches, if we are doing a much better job of coordinating with our allies, then we can be successful.

But we recognize there are gonna be a lot of hurdles between now and us finally having weakened al Qaeda or destroyed al Qaeda to the point there - it cannot, it doesn't pose a danger to us. And we will continue to monitor and adjust our strategies to make sure that we're not just going down blind alleys.

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[heavynne]

More and more President Obama is revealed as an immature intellect with the emotional depth of the average teenager...all noise and no substance.
Posted by res4lif at 9:20 AM : Mar 29, 2009


You have got to be a Republican. That would explain why your intelligence doesn't go beyond your own immature slang. Obama speaks very well and very intelligently. At least he is allowing we the people to know what he's doing or trying to do, unlike the most secretive administration that just left the White House. Speaking of teenage intellect, you need to go back and look at some of Bush's speeches. Forget looking up words and definition, he just made them up as he went along.

[nolies74621]

Not to start any fires, but American forces was not supposed to go onto Cambodia to fight the NVA during Vietnam but they had to, because like the Taliban operating out of Pakistan, the NVA was also operating out of Cambodia.

[nolies74621]

I think it's America's war. And it's the same war that we initiated after 9/11 as a consequence of those attacks on 3,000 Americans who were just going about their daily round. And the focus over the last seven years I think has been lost.


I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure there were citizens of other countries in the Trade Center on 911. Correct me if I am wrong.

[nolies74621]

I am sure we are all weary of the problems our nation faces. Also I am just as skeptical of Obamas policies, but we are stuck with him so we need to give him a chance to turn it around. If he blows it then he will bear the fallout. I am glad that there are repubs and Dems a like on Capitol Hill questioning his plans though.

[jairusngaah]

I do not agree that Schieffer did not pose tough questions to President Obama; it is only that the people of the United States of America have such a brilliant President whose smart answers make tough questions look so easy. I am not a US citizen but I am proud of him as a world leader. Let's all give him the support he needs and we shall all succeed. God bless America, God bless the world.

Ngaah Jairus.

[msmabuse]

pumawoman1
You get paid to write this crap huh?

[msmabuse]

This is a list of the last 11 presidents
1. Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961
2. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963
3. Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969
4. Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974
5. Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977
6. James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981
7. Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989
8. George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993
9. William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001
10. George Walker Bush, 2001-2009
11. Barack Hussein Obama, 2009-

And you want us to believe Obama can hold the jock strap of which one?
Give me creditable reasons for your answers, and try to be intelligent.

And don?t try to use these ones as proof that he is smarter then the others.

On May 9, Obama Claimed To Have Visited 57 States. Obama: "Because, you know, it is just wonderful to be back in Oregon, and over the last 15 months we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states, I think, one left to go. One left to go, Alaska and Hawaii I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Beaverton, OR, 5/9/08)
In June 2008, Obama Falsely Claimed His Father Served In World War II:
Obama: "My father served in World War II, and when he came home, he got the services that he needed." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At The NALEO Conference, Washington, DC, 6/28/08)
On May 5, Obama Called Matt Lauer "Tim" Three Times In One Interview, Had To Be Corrected By Lauer.

Obama Mistakenly Said That Translators In Iraq Were Needed In Afghanistan, When The Language Spoken In The Two Countries Are Completely Different.

Iraq farms oil
On Same Day In May 2008, Obama Mistakenly Complained U.S. Was Sending Agricultural Aid To Iraq That Otherwise Would Go To Afghanistan

[hankvreeland]

I did not vote for Mr. Obama and I have reservations about some of his programs. But according to the rules set up by the founding fathers he is now the president of this country. Thoughtful opposition is right and proper and should be expressed.. But the mindless and often stupid comments frequently made are a sure way of seeing country become a third rate power the likes Mexico or Somalia. Anyone that can't think for them self and has to rely on parroting demagogues like Olbermann or Limbaugh should explore the possibility of getting a GED,

[bumpedoff1]

obamabots and thire propaganda

[marianlauria]

President Obama is off to a reasonably good start, considering all the issues he has before him. He is working daily, is on-task with all the issues. I know that many of us have an opinion, but he cannot consider and accept all 300 million of our ideas.
Let us work with him where we can and disagree when we must. But the mean-spirited name calling and extreme partisian verbiage needs to stop.
This country is in serious difficulty and we need to all think and speak humanely about our circumstances, instead of being so negative. Positiveness begets positive outcomes. I want this president to succeed because I want to America to be number one!!