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Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the U.S. foreign policy challenges in dealing with Syria and Iran.
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Idea that -- and that we have a very dangerous world still.
You.
Confronted -- of the world issue found it and that was Iraq that was Afghanistan.
Obviously al-Qaeda.
Now Syria this president has said that Bashar Assad will go here.
-- it is unclear whether or not it's in his province our capacity to to remove him.
What are your thoughts about Syria the threat it poses its relationship to -- -- Well needless to say -- Syria is because of its relationship with Iran and its active.
Mischief and -- Harm that it causes us in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
It's active assistance to Hezbollah and Hamas.
Clearly.
Is a much more important problem for the United States -- -- the case with Libya over and other -- other situations that we've addressed.
So I am needless to say the world would be a better place if the current government -- side was it was no longer in office.
I guess the question is what would replace him and and I hope we have people on the ground assisting in.
Intelligence activities in Covert activities that would enable us to get a pretty good understanding of -- the various factions -- We know that the yellow whites are minority in that country and they have run that government.
Since this current Bashir Assad's father was in.
In office.
And he had a pattern of crushing revolts also he killed by ten plus thousand people in in -- -- many years ago.
And in support of in support of -- -- Iraq.
And and Iran despite the fact that we've documented.
Are clearly their support -- forces in Iraq killing our troops.
That they are behind.
Do you use the word mission -- across much of the Middle East and other parts of the world.
This -- committee has not this is not responding to the principle it seems consolation here and that is -- Yeah I mean if you look at what's really important in that part of the world clearly the Iran Syria axis.
Is it constitutes a a danger.
Egypt is important with sixty million people and they the -- -- -- education for the Arab world and the gulf.
Of those of the three major pieces of that puzzle that that are of a strategic interest to the United States of America and have to be of concern to us.
They repeated attempts to.
Sanction Iran.
And unsuccessfully.
I think can probably be attributed in many respects to the behavior on the part of Russia.
Clearly the Russians have been supportive of Iran have cooperated with respect to their new nuclear program.
And are giving.
Iran the kind of cover in the United Nations that prevents the U.
World community from from imposing the kinds of sanctions that would actually be.
I have no meaningful.
Mr.
secretary it's always good to have you with us.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld his new memoir out in paper -- now you can find a great deal more room I'll.
Known and unknown one of my all time favorite titles by the way at Lou Dobbs dot com we.
