Length: 4:31
LARGE (53.0 MB)
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SMALL (5.3 MB)
Michael talks to Campbell Brown about the fact that the war isn't going to be able to be wrapped up any time soon... and what might ensue after American troops leave.
CAMPBELL
BROWN: We're going to turn to the war now.
For the last two days, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, General David Petraeus, has patiently explained
to Congress why he thinks the U.S. cannot leave Iraq
any time soon.
So, we asked our Baghdad correspondent, Michael Ware,
to sit in on the hearings, and then to sit down with
the general himself.
Michael, what's the headline?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Campbell,
America's top commander's message is that this long
war still has a long way to go.
BROWN: All right, Michael, we're going to be coming
back.
He's got questions for the general -- right after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: For the top commander in
Iraq, it was two days of grilling on Capitol Hill.
And today, General David Petraeus sat down with our
Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware one on one. Take a
look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: This war is far
from over, isn't it?
GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
CMDR: Well, it's tough. And I think that Ambassador
Crocker accurately used the word hard. He used it
repeatedly, and I think it's a correct description.
WARE: They're not coming home any time soon.
PETRAEUS: It is very complex. I think we will be
engaged in Iraq. And again, that is the operative
word, I think, engagement rather than perhaps exit,
but engagement will continue for some time. The
question, of course, is at what level, at what cost,
and in what form?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Michael is joining me now. Michael, if as
he said, engaged is the operative word, based on what
you know, how long do you think that we are -- that
U.S. troops are going to be engaged in Iraq?
WARE: Well, I can tell you this for sure, Campbell,
that American troops are going to be there for years
and years and years and years to come. The only
question is, how many. Now, perhaps they can whittle
that down to a tokenistic division, although one
wonders what would be the point of that.
I guess what America wants to know is how long will
America be engaged at the level it is now, just a
shade under 140,000 troops, or even 100,000 troops.
How long is it going to take for America to be able
to pull out from that level of engagement in Iraq?
And sadly, neither the general, David Petraeus, nor
the ambassador, Ryan Crocker, have an answer for
that.
Indeed, they say that it depends on what's happening
on the ground. "We can't surrender that country to
al-Qaeda, nor can we surrender our interests to Iran.
So we have to wait for success, but we can't just sit
and tell you what the conditions of that success will
be. So, the bottom line is, when it comes to success
and the time to pull out, we'll know it when we see
it, and we can't tell you beforehand" -- Campbell.
BROWN: Michael, if one of the Democrats is elected
president, and troop withdrawals begin, whether
Petraeus or Crocker want them to or not, what do you
think is the worst-case scenario?
WARE: Well, we can play this out. We can wargame this
out in many, many ways. But easily the worst-case
scenario, and a lot of things can happen to dampen
this, but the worst-case scenario is that as the
troops begin to pull out, there's a military and
political vacuum that you very rapidly see various
militias and their foreign sponsors, like Iran on one
side with the Shia, and Saudi Arabia and Jordan and
others on the Sunni side, step in to fill.
Now, when they step in like that, there's bound to be
clashes. Even senior Democrats, Senator John Kerry
told me last week, he expects that with any
withdrawal, there will be bloodshed. He says, I
expect the bloodshed to rise. The point is trying to
minimize it.
BROWN: Right.
WARE: And that's coming from a Democrat. And the
worst case is that as this bloodshed ensues, if it
happens, two things. One, the Americans are stuck in
their bases, completely useless, and looking
humiliated and immoral as the blood washes up to the
razor wire, and it engages a regional proxy war, as
Ambassador Ryan Crocker most fears, involving three
of the largest oil reserves in the world, Iran, Iraq
and Saudi Arabia.
You think gas is expensive now? Wait until a proxy
war. That's your worst-case scenario -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Michael, thanks very much. And we
should say, Michael and his interview, we'll have
much more of both on "360" tonight at 10:00
Eastern.