INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JOHN McCAIN

on

NBC NEWS’ MEET THE PRESS
13 MAY 2001

Excerpts on Iraq

       
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MR. RUSSERT: Saddam Hussein is up to it again, firing on American pilots at a rate much higher than ever before. What would you say to Saddam Hussein today if you were the president?
       
SEN. McCAIN: I think that there’s one thing that we all can agree on and that is as long as Saddam Hussein is in power, he will pose a significant threat to the United States’ national security interests. I respect the views of our syncs and they’re the ones we give responsibility to for the carrying out of our military missions. But I believe that we should encourage, both from within and from without, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. I would beef up, rather than reduce, our presence, and I would, again, in a long-term process, undermine and eventually overthrow Saddam Hussein and do everything I can to achieve that, recognizing that’s a very, very difficult challenge.

MR. RUSSERT: The administration is considering reducing the number of flights controlling the no-fly zone in Iraq rather than increasing. Would you support reducing?
       
SEN. McCAIN: I don’t think that that is the proper course of action. I would increase our security around those flights, and I—again, Saddam Hussein would have to understand that if this kind of aggressive behavior towards our flights, which are part of the cease-fire agreement at the end of the Persian Gulf War, again, would have to have some consequences. But again, everyone is in agreement that Saddam Hussein will continue as long as he is in power to pose a threat to the United States and peace in the world.

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