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WOLF
BLITZER: Tonight's formal topic: foreign policy. And
that's certainly going to include the war in Iraq.
Let's bring in CNN's Michael Ware, who's covered this
war now for almost, what, six years in Baghdad.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BLITZER: You're here in New York, Michael, right now.
What do these candidates, from your perspective, need
to say tonight?
WARE: Well, I'd like to see if they take this
opportunity in Mississippi and make it worthwhile.
Will they go beyond the glib responses about Iraq and
beyond and actually say something substantive?
First and foremost, what will they as president do to
protect America's interests in the future of Iraq?
And that is essentially the Sunni allies that are now
on the U.S. government payroll. America is handing
them back to the Shia-dominated government, who hates
these American allies.
BLITZER: So do you fear there could be yet a
bloodbath if the U.S. were to pull out?
WARE: Well, I don't think it will be an overt
bloodbath. But we already see these American-paid
allies under assault from the Iraqi government.
Now, this is an Iraqi government more closely aligned
with Iran than it is America. Already, the
government's chipping away at these American allies.
And let's talk about Iran. Because of the war in
Iraq, Iran is bigger, stronger and more emboldened
than ever. Let's hear the candidates acknowledge that
and let's hear how they intend to deal with Iran as a
regional superpower.
BLITZER: What about the so-called war on terror, the
hunt for bin Laden, for example?
WARE: Well, hey, you want to defeat al Qaeda, you
want to beat these Islamic militants?
Let's hear the candidates answer how on earth do they
intend to counter the rogue elements of Pakistan's
intelligence agency, which are continuing to support
al Qaeda. Until they address that, you're not going
to be able touch al Qaeda.
Let's hear something real.
BLITZER: And there's so many other world crises
underway.
WARE: Oh.
BLITZER: You were just in Georgia -- the Republic of
Georgia...
WARE: Right.
BLITZER: ...where there was a Russian invasion.
WARE: Right. And we now have a resurgent Russia. Now,
they have America over a barrel in some ways. America
needs Russia's support in the U.N. Security Council
and elsewhere on key issues, such as Syria and Iran's
nuclear development, just to name a few.
What -- what leverage does America have, if any, to
get Russia to play ball? I'd like to hear some
inventive out-of-the-box thinking. And let's get
something real rather than some pastiche sort of
thrown-together answers that say nothing -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And you know what, you're going to be with
us after the debate and we're going to pick your
brain. You're going to be taking notes and we'll get
your sense of what you thought was good, what worked,
what didn't work and all that.
Michael, thanks very much.
WARE: My pleasure, mate.
BLITZER: Michael Ware is going to be with us
throughout the night.