Our Interview with Sen. John McCain (page 3 of 5)

Why We Need to Be in Iraq

RD: But it seems that in the last few weeks, ordinary Americans are starting to wonder if it's not just the bad guys causing us problems, it's the Iraqis themselves. That scene of Saddam Hussein being executed while all these guys in leather jackets with hoods over their heads were taunting him -- apparently people from the Shiite militias were in the room -- it makes Americans say, "These people can't be helped. ..."
McCain: It's very disappointing. But remember that we are there not just for Iraqi national interests, but for American national interests as well. It's a weak government [in Iraq]. And they also have to understand that we're nearing the end of the line unless there's improvement. But again, I don't see political stability without security.

RD: Many people think the bigger long-term problem is, of course, Iran. President Bush has said that America would not tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon. Would you say the same thing, that we wouldn't tolerate it? Is this practical?
McCain: The famous center for the Boston Celtics, Bill Russell, the great philosopher Bill Russell, once said, "When things go bad, things go bad." After the initial success in Iraq, the Iranians and the Syrians were being as nice and cooperative as they can be, the situation in Lebanon was very stable, things were very good. We started downhill in Iraq, and that affects not only that region but every part of the world. That's why this situation is so critical. I believe that we must exercise every possible non-military option before we consider using a military option. Admittedly, these are very weak sanctions that were just enacted by the UN. Now we're going to have to have a coalition of countries, and try to impose greater restrictions on the Iranians. And we're going to have to explore other areas, including support for the forces of democracy in Iran.

There are many other steps we have to take. But to say that we're taking the military option off the table, I think would be incredibly unwise. Suppose we were faced with the situation where the Iranians were about to launch a nuclear missile at Israel? We've already told the world that we will not stand by and watch Israel be exterminated. So we want to be very clear we have many options to pursue, and we will pursue those and we must pursue those. But there's only one thing worse than exercising the military option -- and that is a nuclear-armed Iran. Their president has come to the United Nations and said that the state of Israel must be eradicated from the face of the earth.

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