Click photo to play
Length: 3:18
PAULA ZAHN: Let's talk a
little bit more about the opponents of pulling out of
Iraq. They say it would be an absolute disaster on
the ground.
Just a short while ago, I spoke about that with our
Baghdad correspondent, Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Great to have you in town. Welcome.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: So, you know, Senator John McCain is outraged
by this Iraq war spending bill. And here is what he
had to say about it a little bit earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I
understand the consequences of failure if we have to
withdraw from Iraq, and I think it's chaos, genocide,
and they will follow us home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: So, what do you think would happen if the U.S.
pulled out of Iraq?
WARE: Well, Senator McCain actually is pretty much
right. And his assessment accords with the military
commanders on the ground.
What you would see is untold bloodshed, most likely
creating a recipe for impending regional conflict.
You would see a consolidation of Iranian influence.
It would be absolute disaster.
ZAHN: Take a look at some of the latest polling,
which shows American attitudes toward this war.
In a recent poll, when asked who was winning the war
in Iraq, only 21 percent think the U.S. is winning. A
majority, 63 percent, thought neither Americans, nor
insurgents, were winning.
Can the United States win?
WARE: The way it's going, no. I mean, the seeds for
the current disaster were sown way back in 2003. The
American public must now be prepared for some very
ugly decisions. They need to confront a certain
reality.
ZAHN: And that would be a lot more killing of
civilians and a lot more loss of American life?
WARE: Well, the foremost thing that the generals talk
about is an ongoing presence of U.S. troops. That's
the first and foremost. It is beyond imagination that
you can start pulling them home any time soon.
ZAHN: And, in a statement yesterday, this is how the
White House described the spending bill:
"disappointing legislation that insists on a
surrender date, handcuffs our generals, and contains
billions of dollars in spending unrelated to the
war."
The president currently committed to at least 20,000
troops in this surge. What happens if those numbers
aren't met?
WARE: Well, it's going to be difficult to maintain
what's going on now.
And, even what's happening now, the U.S. mission is
barely keeping its head above water. Indeed, it's
not. I mean, it's difficult to see where the mission
is gaining traction. We're now hearing top military
commanders saying that security is the paramount
issue. That's the core of the U.S. military mission
in Iraq.
And, indeed, to secure that, they're now saying, for
the first time ever publicly, that they're willing to
entertain the notion of a non-democratic solution.
ZAHN: What would that be, a dictatorship?
WARE: They're talking about a situation that could
have many manifestations or many different faces.
But the ones that the generals point to are those we
see in the Middle East. The bottom line for them is:
provide security. Only then -- maybe -- you will have
democracy.
ZAHN: Michael Ware, hate to end it on that note. So,
we will be discussing this a lot with you in the days
to come.
WARE: Thanks, Paula.
ZAHN: Appreciate it.