OBAMA. SHE’S THE AUTHOR OF "TOUGH LOVE:
MY STORY OF THE THINGS WORTH
FIGHTING FOR."
FIGHTING FOR." THANK YOU SO MUCH, AMBASSADOR.
WHERE ARE WE ON THIS?
AND YOU KNOW, I GREW UP LEARNING
THAT WE HAD BEEN INVOLVED WITH
PATRICE LAMUND TO SOME EXTENT,
WE SUPPORTED THE COUP IN VIETNAM
THAT ENDED UP KILLING ZIEM, OUR
PARTNER.
PARTNER. ASSASSINATION HAS BEEN A DIRTY,
AWFUL BUSINESS HISTORICALLY.
WE’VE BEEN TOO CLOSE TO TOO MUCH
INVOLVED IN IT OVER THE YEARS.
I THOUGHT AFTER THE CHURCH
COMMISSION BACK IN THE ’70s, WE
SAID, ENOUGH OF THAT!
WE’RE NOT GOING TO ASSASSINATE
ANYMORE.
ANYMORE. >> WELL, AS YOU KNOW, SOLEIMANI
WAS NOT A HEAD OF STATE AND THE
CHURCH COMMITTEE REALLY MAINLY
APPLIED TO HEAD OF STATES.
BUT THE IMPORTANT THING HERE,
CHRIS, IS THE WISDOM OF THIS
CHOICE.
CHOICE. AND ALSO THE CRAZY SHIFTING
EXPLANATIONS, IMMINENT, NOT
IMMINENT, FOUR KBAZEMBASSY, ONE
EMBASSY, NO EMBASSIES, IT TRULY
STRAINS CREDULITY.
STRAINS CREDULITY. AND WHATEVER THE INTELLIGENCE
INDICATES, I THINK WE KNOW FROM
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO HAVE
RECEIVED THE BRIEFINGS THAT THEY
REALLY HAD NO CASE FOR
IMMINENCE.
IMMINENCE. THEY MAY HAVE HAD A CORRECTION
OF NOISE, CHATTER, INTELLIGENCE
REPORTS.
REPORTS. I THINK THOSE OF US WHO HAVE
BEEN FOLLOWING IRAN FOR A LONG
TIME WOULD ASSUME THAT THE QUDS
FORCE AND THEREFORE SOLEIMANI
ARE CONSTANTLY SURVEILLING OUR
EMBASSIES, SURVEILLING OUR
PERSONNEL AND HAVING PLOTS IN
OUR BACK POCKET.
BRINGING THEM TO FRUITION,
THOUGH, IS QUITE A DIFFERENT
THING.
THING. BUT TO ME WHAT I’M MOST WORRIED
ABOUT IS THE WISDOM OF THIS
KILLING.
KILLING. THE FACT IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT
WHERE WE ARE SINCE THIS
HAPPENED, IT’S BEEN SETBACK
AFTER SETBACK TO OUR STRATEGIC
INTEREST.
INTEREST. THE IRAQIS WANT US OUT.
THEY’RE NOW PUSHING TO MAKE THAT
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISIS, THE
REASON WHY WE’RE IN IRAQ IN THE
FIRST PLACE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED.
AND THE NUCLEAR PROGRAM, WHICH
HAD BEEN INCREMENTALLY
RESTARTING AFTER WE PULLED OUT
OF THE NUCLEAR DEAL UNILATERALLY
IS NOW FULL STEAM AHEAD.
SO ALL OF THESE VERY IMPORTANT
CONCERNS TO OUR INTERESTS HAVE
BEEN SET BACK IN A FUNDAMENTAL
WAY.
WAY. SO THIS WAS NOT A SMART MOVE.
IT WAS BAD FOR OUR SECURITY, BAD
FOR OUR STANDING IN THE REGION,
AND YES, I MEAN, MANY PEOPLE,
MYSELF INCLUDED, ARE GLAD TO SEE
A WORLD WITHOUT SOLEIMANI.
BUT I DON’T THINK THE BENEFITS
NEARLY OUTWEIGHED THE COSTS.
>> WELL, IS THAT WHY?
BECAUSE IT’S ENDED UP WITH ALL
OF THESE BAD CHAIN REACTIONS
GOING ON.
GOING ON. NOW IT’S GOING TO BE, WHO LOST
IRAQ NOW?
IRAQ NOW? WE’VE GOT THE PEOPLE ON THE
STREETS OF TEHRAN, ALL CRYING
AND MISERABLE, BECAUSE A HERO OF
THEIRS HAS BEEN KILLED BY US,
ASSASSINATED BY US.
WHERE’S THIS GOING TO TAKE US?
>> IT’S GOING TO TAKE US TO A
CONTINUING --
CONTINUING -- >> ARE WE EVER GOING TO BE NOT
AT THIS SORT OF COLD WAR WITH
IRAN?
IRAN? >> WELL, NOT FOR A WHILE.
AND WHAT HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF
THE RETALIATION, THE IRANIANS,
YOU KNOW, RETALIATED IN QUITE A
CALIBRATED WAY.
CALIBRATED WAY. CLEARLY DESIGNED --
>> SURE, NOBODY GOT KILLED.
>> -- TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE
THE RISK OF CASUALTIES.
BUT THEY’RE NOT DONE.
ANYBODY WHO KNOWS IRAN AND KNOWS
THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLEIMANI TO
IRAN, AS I DO, AS MANY DO, WOULD
ASSUME THAT THE IRANIANS’ NEXT
STEPS WILL UNFOLD OVER TIME, IN
PLACES WE DON’T EXPECT, BUT THEY
WILL INVOLVE PROXY ATTACKS ON
OUR PERSONNEL.
OUR PERSONNEL. PERHAPS OUR DIPLOMATIC
FACILITIES, AS WELL AS OUR
MILITARY PERSONNEL, IT’S GOING
TO INVOLVE CYBER, AND IT COULD
WELL INVOLVE TERRORIST ATTACKS,
AS WE’VE SEEN IN THE PAST.
AND NOT NECESSARILY ISOLATED TO
THE MIDDLE EAST.
>> WELL, THAT’S SCARY.
WHERE COULD THEY HIT US?
>> THE IRANIANS HAVE CAPACITY
GLOBALLY.
GLOBALLY. WE’VE SEEN THEM HIT IN LATIN
AMERICA.
AMERICA. WE KNOW THEY TRIED TO PLOT HERE
IN THE UNITED STATES, A FAILED
PLOT THAT WAS FOILED AGAINST THE
SAUDI AMBASSADOR.
SAUDI AMBASSADOR. WE KNOW THEY HAVE CAPACITIES IN