CORRESPONDENT COURTNEY KUBE IS WITH US AND NBC NEWS
CORRESPONDENT HANS NICHOLS AT
THE WHITE HOUSE.
>> SO, DAVID IGNATIUS, FOR
SEVERAL HOURS LAST NIGHT IT
CERTAINLY APPEARED THAT THE
UNITED STATES AND IRAN WERE ON A
PATHWAY, AN INESCAPABLE PATHWAY
TO WAR, A WIDE-SPREAD WAR WHERE
RETALIATION WOULD MEET
RETALIATION, AIR STRIKE WOULD
MEET AIR STRIKE.
AND YET WE WAKE UP THIS MORNING
AND CERTAINLY THIS SEEMED
OBVIOUS WHEN DONALD TRUMP
DECIDED NOT TO ADDRESS THE
NATION LAST NIGHT THAT THE
UNITED STATES DID NOT RESPOND
AND, IN FACT, IRAN’S RESPONSE
WAS INDEED CALCULATED,
PROPORTIONAL AND IF YOU BELIEVE
THAT THEY INTENTIONALLY STRUCK
THE BASE BUT DID WHAT THEY COULD
TO LIMIT THE LOSS OF LIFE, IT
WAS ACTUALLY REMARKABLY
RESTRAINED.
RESTRAINED. WE WAKE UP THIS MORNING WITH
BOTH SIDES SAYING NO MAS.
>> CERTAINLY, JOE, THE INITIAL
FEELING IS ONE OF RELIEF THAT WE
DIDN’T GO INTO A SECOND SPASM OF
RETALIATION, COUNTERRETALIATION.
RETALIATION, COUNTERRETALIATION. MILITARY STRATEGISTS OFTEN TALK
IN CRISES LIKE THIS ABOUT
LINKAGES AND HOW TIGHT THE
LINKAGES ARE BETWEEN ACTION AND
REACTION AND WHAT WE SAW
SENSIBLY FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP
WAS THAT THE LINKAGES WERE
LOOSENED.
LOOSENED. THAT THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE
REACTION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND THEN WHEN IT CAME, IT WAS
THE TWEET THAT YOU READ IN TERMS
OF CASUALTIES, SO FAR, SO GOOD.
ALL IS WELL.
REASSURING WORDS, NOT THE KIND
OF WORDS THAT TYPICALLY PROCEED
A SHARP ADDITIONAL ESCALATION.
SO I THINK BY OPENING UP THE
TIGHT LINKAGES THEY GAVE
THEMSELVES SOME TIME TO THINK
AND LOOK.
AND LOOK. WE WILL HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE
PRESIDENT SAYS TODAY.
I THINK THIS IS STILL A CRISIS
THAT COULD QUICKLY GET BACK INTO
THE ACTION/REACTION CYCLE.
I THINK WHAT WE SHOULD ALL THINK
ABOUT IS THIS CRISIS HAS BEEN
BUILDING FOR 40 YEARS, SINCE THE
IRANIAN REVOLUTION OF 1979.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT WAR, HOW
CLOSE WE WERE TO WAR.
OVER ALL THOSE FOUR DECADES, NOW
IT’S REALLY HERE AND, YES, WE
WANT TO SEE DEESCALATION BUT I
THINK PEOPLE SHOULD FOCUS ON THE
DIPLOMATIC QUESTION.
DIPLOMATIC QUESTION. HOW DO WE GET OFF THE PATH WE’VE
BEEN ON SO THAT THIS CRISIS
COULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST
PLACE AND BEGIN A PROCESS OF
BENDING TOWARDS SOME
RELATIONSHIP WHERE WE’RE TALKING
TO IRAN ABOUT MUTUAL PROBLEMS
AND HOPEFULLY SOLVING THEM.
>> THIS COLD WAR HAS GOTTEN
HOTTER OBVIOUSLY OVER THE PAST
SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, WILLIE.
BUT LAST NIGHT THE IRANIANS
SAYING WE DO NOT SEEK
ESCALATION.
ESCALATION. DONALD TRUMP SEEMING TO BACK
AWAY FROM POSSIBLE RETALIATORY
STRIKES AS WELL.
FOR NOW WHAT APPEARED TO BE A
HOT WAR HAS COOLED DOWN.
>> YEAH, THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO
SO FAR, AND I DO EMPHASIZE SO
FAR, HAS NOT PLAYED OUT.
LAST NIGHT WE KNOW THAT THE
UNITED STATES HAD SOME WARNING
BECAUSE OF ITS DETECTION SYSTEMS
THAT BALLISTIC MISSILES WERE
INBOUND FROM IRAN, PERHAPS
GIVING OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL
AND THOSE WE FIGHT WITH FROM
OTHER COUNTRIES TIME TO SEEK
COVER.
COVER. SO OUR FIRST THOUGHTS ARE WITH
THOSE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE
OVERSEAS AND THEIR FAMILIES BACK
HERE AND HOPING THAT THE REPORTS
OF NO CASUALTIES HOLD UP THIS
MORNING.
MORNING. RICHARD, YOU AND I WERE TALKING
BEFORE WE CAME ON THE AIR AND MY
QUESTION TO YOU IS WHO IS THE
PERSON AROUND DONALD TRUMP WHO
EITHER WALKED IN THE ROOM LAST
NIGHT OR CAN WALK IN THE ROOM
AGAIN THIS MORNING AND SAY TO
HIM, MR. PRESIDENT, ENOUGH.
WE HAVE ACHIEVED OUR OBJECTIVE
HERE.
HERE. WE TOOK GENERAL SOLEIMANI OFFER
THE BATTLEFIELD, THE PRICE IF
THERE ARE NO CASUALTIES HERE IS
RELATIVELY SMALL, WE HOPE.
STOP NOW.
STOP NOW. WHO IS SAYING THAT TO HIM AND DO
YOU THINK HE CONTINUES THE TONE
AND POSTURE HE HAD LAST NIGHT IN
THAT TWEET WHEN HE SPEAKS TO THE
COUNTRY LATER THIS MORNING?
>> SHORT ANSWER IS WE DON’T KNOW
AND MY OWN EXPERIENCE IN
GOVERNMENT IT WAS OFTEN THE
MILITARY LEADERSHIP THAT WOULD
BE MORE LIKELY TO DO THAT OR
CIVILIANS HAD A MORE IDEOLOGICAL
APPROACH TO THE USE OF MILITARY
FORCE.
FORCE. AT THE END OF THE DAY IT’S
SOLDIERS WHO HAVE TO DO IT AND
ARE ON THE RECEIVING END.
THEY HAVE OFTEN BE MORE CAREFUL
AND THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN SOMEONE
FROM THE OUTSIDE FROM MR.
TRUMP’S POLITICAL BASE.
WHAT WAS TO ODD ABOUT THE LAST
FEW DAYS IS EVERYTHING HE WAS
DOING WAS INCONSISTENT WITH HIS
IDEA OF GETTING OUT OF THE
MIDDLE EAST, OF AMERICA FIRST.
HE WAS GOING DOWN A PATH THAT
WAS SOMETHING HE HAD CAMPAIGNED
AGAINST.
AGAINST. SO IT’S POSSIBLE HE HAD BEEN
REMINDED OF THAT.
BUT I WANT TO COME BACK TO
SOMETHING DAVID WAS ALLUDING TO,
NONE OF THE UNDERLYING CAUSES OR
FACTORS HAS BEEN ELIMINATED AND
I THINK WHAT’S SO INTERESTING
ABOUT THE SPEECH WE’RE GOING TO
HEAR THIS MORNING IS WHETHER THE
PRESIDENT BEGINS TO MOVE THIS
AWAY FROM A CONFRONTATION, AND
WE GOT LUCKY LAST NIGHT, IRAN
MAY HAVE THREADED THE NEEDLE,
DONE SOMETHING BUT NOT CAUSED
ENOUGH HARM, BUT ARE WE GOING TO
SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE ACCEPT
THE IRANIAN REGIME, OUR GOALS
ARE NOT REGIME CHANGE.
ARE WE GOING TO SAY THAT THE
TIME HAS COME TO HAVE SOMETHING,
PUT A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC IN
PLACE.
PLACE. WE ARE PREPARED TO CONSIDER AN
END TO A REDUCTION IN ECONOMIC
WARFARE IN EXCHANGE FOR IRAN
DOING THIS ON NUCLEAR, THIS ON
MISSILES, THIS ON ITS REGIONAL
BEHAVIOR, ESSENTIALLY CAN WE
COMPETE WITH THE MILITARY
DYNAMIC BY INTRODUCING A
DIPLOMATIC DYNAMIC.
DIPLOMATIC DYNAMIC. THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS I’M
LOOKING FOR.
LOOKING FOR. >> ADMIRAL, THERE WAS SOMETHING
ESPECIALLY AS I WOKE UP THIS
MORNING AND REPLAYED THE EVENTS
IN MY MIND, AND, BY THE WAY, I
HOPE THIS IS THE CASE, THERE
SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING VERY
CHOREOGRAPHED ABOUT EVERYTHING
THAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT.
YOU HAD THE PRESIDENT, THE VICE
PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF HIS
CABINET SITTING IN THE WHITE
HOUSE IN THE LATE AFTERNOON
KNOWING AN ATTACK WAS COMING.
THE IRANIANS LAUNCHED THOSE
ATTACKS, THEY STRUCK AN AMERICAN
BASE, SO THEY ARE SEEN AS THE
WINNER BY THEIR PEOPLE,
ANNOUNCED INCORRECTLY THAT 30
AMERICANS HAD BEEN KILLED
IMMEDIATELY, BUT REPORTS,
INITIAL REPORTS, AGAIN, SUGGEST
NO AMERICANS WERE KILLED.
THEY THEN CAME OUT AND WE DO NOT
SEEK ESCALATION, THEY SAID WE
SEEK NO ESCALATION.
THIS IS DONE.
DONALD TRUMP RESPONDED LIKEWISE.
I JUST -- IT DOES SEEM VERY
CHOREOGRAPHED AND I JUST WONDER
IF A THIRD PARTY GOT INVOLVED
AND MAY HAVE CALLED THE
PRESIDENT OR SOMEONE ELSE.
>> YOU KNOW, THAT’S AN
INTERESTING SPECULATION, JOE,
AND OF COURSE, THERE WAS A
MEETING WITH THE SAUDI OFFICIAL
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. THERE HAVE BEEN FLICKERS OF THAT
KIND OF MEDIATION OVER TIME.
I THINK FRANKLY WE JUST GOT
LUCKY.
LUCKY. ALWAYS IN A CHOICE BETWEEN A
VERY CLEVER MOVE AND THINGS JUST
WORK OUT, THE SIMPLEST ANSWER IS
ALSO THE RIGHT ONE, MY SENSE IS
THE IRANIANS LAUNCHED A BIG
RELATIVELY DUMB CRUISE MISSILES,
THESE ARE NOT PRECISION GUIDED,
THEY DIDN’T ZONE IN TO GO AFTER
THE MESS HALL RIGHT AT DINNER.
THIS WAS THE MINIMUM THEY COULD
DO AND, THEREFORE, I THINK WE
KIND OF ARE AT LAST EXIT BEFORE
THE TUNNEL ON THIS ROUND, BUT AS
BOTH DAVID AND MY GOOD FRIEND
RICHARD HAVE SAID, THE LONGER
TERM PROCESS HERE HAS GOT TO
RESOLVE THIS LINGERING
BITTERNESS AND HATRED BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES AND IRAN.
SO HERE IS WHAT I’M HOPING AND
WATCHING FOR, A, THAT THE
IRANIANS DO NOT TAKE ANOTHER
BITE AT THE APPLE.
I DON’T THINK THEY WILL, BUT
WATCH -- WATCH THE ARABIAN GULF,
WATCH OUR SHIPS AT SEA.
NUMBER TWO --
>> CAN I STOP YOU THERE,
ADMIRAL?
ADMIRAL? CAN I STOP YOU ON NUMBER ONE
BECAUSE YOU JUST SAID SOMETHING
THAT, AGAIN, FOR AMERICANS THAT
HAVE NOT FOLLOWED IRAN AS
CLOSELY AS YOU HAVE SINCE 1979
THE THING THAT HAS ALWAYS STRUCK
ME AND I’M SURE IT STRUCK YOU,
YES, THEY’VE BEEN THE EPICENTER
OF TERRORISM SINCE 1979.
YES, WE CONSIDER THEM FOR GOOD
REASON TO BE A TERRORIST REGIME
WHO CONSIDERS THE UNITED STATES
AND ISRAEL AN ENEMY.
AT THE SAME TIME LIKE THE OLD
SOVIET UNION, THEY, TOO, HAVE
BEEN CONSERVATIVE WITH A SMALL
SEA.
SEA. THEY DO NOT SWING WILDLY LIKE AL
QAEDA.
QAEDA. THEY DO NOT SWING WILDLY LIKE
ISIS.
ISIS. THERE IS A REASON WHY THIS
REGIME HAS SURVIVED SINCE 1979,
IS THERE NOT?
AND IN PART IT’S BECAUSE THEY
KNOW WHEN TO SAY WHEN.
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
ANOTHER WAY TO PUT IT, JOE, IS
THEY HAVE IDEOLOGY, THEY HAVE
RELIGION, THEY HAVE GOALS, BUT
THEY ARE NOT RECKLESS AND THEY
ARE DEFINITELY NOT SUICIDAL.
SO WATCH WHAT HAPPENS IN THE
ARABIAN GULF TO SEE IF THEY TAKE
ANOTHER BITE AT THE APPLE.
I DON’T THINK THEY WILL.
WATCH CYBER, THAT SHOE HAS YET
TO DROP.
TO DROP. AND LET US HOPE THAT THIS WILL
BE A MOMENT WHERE SOMEONE CAN
COME IN AND MAYBE NEGOTIATE
THIS.
THIS. AND I WILL CLOSE BY SAYING THIS
IS WHERE THE YOUR MEANS WHO HAVE
BEEN KIND OF ON THE FENCE IN
SOME WAYS COULD STEP UP, LOOK
FOR SOMEONE LIKE URSULA
URSULA VANDERLEI, SHE COULD LEAD
AN EFFORT, WE COULD GET INTO