Future of U.S. Involvement in Iraq

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh discusses the Armed Services Committee hearings on Iraq.

Senator Evan Bayh: Some Iraqis are fighting and dying for their country. But my impression is the majority of them, including some of the top government leaders, still think first as members of a religious group or of an ethnic group or of a tribe rather than as Iraqis first. And it's that common identity, Tavis, that they need to establish.

They need to reconcile their differences. We can't do this for them. And I think this is very much an open question.

Tavis: Your query, Senator Bayh, notwithstanding, the news that really has come out of these hearings today is that the military has not yet moved and said, as you and others would like for them to say, that we need to and can, in fact, establish a timetable for withdrawal. So that said, how disappointed are you about what happened, or for that matter did not happen, as it were, in these hearings today?

Bayh: Well, it's just a difference of philosophy about what it's gonna take to try and get enough stability in that country so that we can get on with the more important things facing us, like Iran and Afghanistan, and other issues that we have. I personally believe that the Iraqi [people] have been put off making the hard decisions too long. And it's only when we tell them, "Look, we're not staying forever. You need to get on with this."

And we let them know that we're serious by establishing some sort of flexible schedule, that they will find the determination to do what has to be done. As long as we do what the president did a couple weeks ago, which is to call up the prime minister and say, "Don't worry, we're with ya, we're staying," takes the pressure off, Tavis.

We can't afford to be a crutch for them. So it's just a difference in approach. After three and a half years, I think we need to get a little bit firmer and say, "Look, enough already. You gotta get on with this."

Tavis: Your angst notwithstanding, and your query notwithstanding, what do you do, for that matter, what do Democrats do, even though they now, or certainly shortly, will control both Houses of Congress? We'll come back to that, and Indiana's role in that in just a moment. But what do you do when the guy on the other end of Pennsylvania says, as you've just suggested, "We ain't going nowhere" to the Iraqi people?

He says, "You do have our support." And then his military personnel, given that he's the commander-in-chief, come to you today and say, as he said, "We're not gonna establish a timetable for withdrawal." Sounds to me like you ain't got many options.

Bayh: Well, Tavis, we can push; we can question; we can demand accountability and responsibility. But you're right. George Bush will be President of the United States for two more years, and he's the commander-in-chief. So look, we gotta find some common ground on this, and work together. But there are at least a couple of reasons for hope, in addition to the elections.

Number one, Don Rumsfeld's resignation. It just clearly was not enough willingness to consider alternative approaches, better ways of trying to bring closure to this, as long as he was Secretary of Defense. Bob Gates, different man. Different perspective. There's some reason to think he might take a little bit different path. We need to focus on that when he comes back before our committee for his confirmation.

Second thing, the Baker-Hamilton Committee that was appointed by Congress a few months ago, to consider all the different options out there. They're gonna be reporting back next month, and I hope they're gonna call it the way they see it. And it could very well be, Tavis, they're gonna be for talking to the other countries in the region, trying to get them involved in resolving this.

And it could be that they say, "Look, we've gotta announce some sort of flexible schedule to put the pressure on the Iraqis, so that they can get on with the tough decisions, and we can begin to redeploy our troops to deal with other problems."

Read the full transcript