The Discerning Texan

HH: Great. Welcome to the Hugh Hewitt Show. It's great to have you on. I understand you've just returned from Iraq, Senator?

JI: Yeah. In fact, it was my 11th trip to the Iraqi AOR, and this is...you know, every time I come back, it's something that's better and better and better. And so, I'd like a chance to talk about it.

HH: I would. I'd love to talk to you right now about it. How long were you in Iraq on this trip?

JI: Oh, I just went...actually, the radio alarm woke me up in the morning...I was here in Washington, and it said that al-Zarqawi's dead. And I thought oh, I've got to get over there. I'd just come back three days before, and went over just to see what the response was. And then, also, the fact that another miracle took place there that you probably don't even know about. A lot of people don't. And that is that they...the same day that he was killed, the ministers were confirmed to the cabinet.

HH: Actually, you're on the right radio show. We know a Sunni's at defense, and a Shiia's at the interior ministry. We're up to date with you. Tell us, how's the reaction of the new cabinet, Senator?

JI: Oh, it's just great. I mean, my reaction is great, because I got a chance to talk to all of them. Abdel Jassim is the minister of defense, and he's one you have to really watch. He and a Dr. Rubai...Dr. Rubai is the national security advisor. And these two people, they are right on top of where their troops are. The Iraqi security troops right now are up to 264,000, and it's growing. And each time I'm over there, I talk to them as well as our troops, and their training is coming along just great.

HH: Now Senator Inhofe, did you get word that an offensive in Ramadi is about to begin, or even underway?

JI: No, I was in Ramadi, and that's one of the old terrorist training areas. But look, this new guy, Abu Muhajir, nobody knows anything about him. We don't even know where he came from, whether he is Jordanian, or Saudi, or what he is. But they're going to start talking about different offensives they're going to launch in different places. And they're going to do all they can, but we're in a position right now where we're able to put those things down.

HH: Let's talk a little bit about the new defense minister, Jassin, Senator Inhofe. How's he strike you? Is he middle aged? Is he experienced in military matters?

JI: Yeah, he's very experienced. He's a general. He is a career military guy, and he's tough as he can be. And he came out with all kinds of wild things. I probably shouldn't tell you this...

HH: Oh, go ahead.

JI: But...and this is so funny when it happened. I was talking to him through an interpretor, and I didn't know whether he could speak English. And I finally got to the point where I said look, our big problem is the media, the media back in the United States, because they're lying to the people of America. All of a sudden, in clear English, he said I hate CNN.

HH: (laughing)

JI: And I just shook my head, and I thought...

HH: Did you toast him at that point? Did you clink glasses?

JI: this guy's on top of everything. And these guys say that, you know, all the cut and run crowd that I serve with in the United States Senate, they said if that happened, that's a recipe for disaster. It's a civil war, and things are happening...look, let's keep in mind, and they're fully aware of this, that the problems with the terrorists, those are not Iraqis. They're from...Zarqawi was from Jordan, and...

HH: Right.

JI: Osama was Saudi, and we don't know where this guy, Muhajir is from, but he's not an Iraqi. But some of the things that Zarqawi was doing, this Abel Jassim that you're going to be real impressed with, their defense minister, he was telling me some of the things he did. He said that he would send letters in a community to the Shiite homes, warn them to move away from the Sunni areas. And as they left the house, he'd shoot them all down, the whole family. This guy is...in fact, the defense minister told me that the people of Iraq were...getting Zarqawi was a bigger deal than getting Saddam Hussein.

HH: I'm talking with Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, just returned again from his 11th visit to Iraq, just today, I imagine. Senator, I just want to pause on the defense minister of Iraq's reaction to CNN. I hate CNN. Did he tell you why he hates CNN?

JI: Oh, he said all they do is talk about negative things, things that are bad, and we have nothing but successes over here. And then he start enumerating the successes, which I can verify, because I'm there all the time. The number, out of 112 battalions, they have 62 of them. That's over half of them that are either level 2 or level 1. That means they can conduct their own combat. He made the statement, and this is one of the things that he says that CNN and some of the media keeps saying, they keep saying that America is leading them, and we're in the rear. And he said that's not true at all. We are leading, and America is offering support. In fact, of the last 500 special operations that took place, 75% of them were led by the Iraqis, not by the Americans. Only 25% were. Now if you go back, as I've done on almost a monthly basis, you can see how this changes. And a year ago, hardly any of them were led by the Iraqis. These guys...I was up in Fallujah during the last election, and they were so proud. They were going down there to vote, and they were targeted, because they were supposed to shoot any of the Iraqi security forces that voted. And they went down, they voted, and they came back, and they were real proud of it. And then, when I asked them the question, are you going to be able to take over the security of Iraq...it's kind of funny, because of the language problem, they said nein, nein. I thought that meant no, no, but that really means yes, yes.

HH: Oh, okay.

JI: So those guys are excited, and they're proud, and you talk to any of the...I challenge any of your listeners to talk to any of our reservists, or the Guard that comes back, and they'll tell you that these guys are learning fast, they're good soldiers, they're disciplined, and they're looking...well, in fact, Dr. Rubai, the guy that you need to watch, too, the national security advisor, he said that by the end of the year, he's going to recommend that the coalition forces cut down to 100,000. That's going to be a military decision, but this is an Iraqi saying that.

HH: Let me ask you about the allegations about death squads, especially from the minister of interior, going out and cutting down Sunnis, and then the reprisal killings. How big a problem, the sectarian violence?

JI: Yeah, I don't think it's happening. It's funny, you hear about these little conspiracies, and these things that are going on, and when you're over there, you don't see it. Now I'll have to say this, the one minister I didn't talk to was al-Balani, and he's the minister of interior. So I don't have a first hand handle on that.

HH: What about the reports you've received on the Haditha incident?

JI: Well, this is kind of interesting. As the more we look into it, and I'm not really the one looking into it, the more that comes out, are misrepresentations of things that may have happened a year ago, or happened six months ago, and they kind of put them all together in this one area, Haditha. Now another interesting thing that was said by Abdel Jassim, he said Haditha is a bigger story back in the United States than it is here. I asked him about it, and he said oh, it's not a big story here. And that's one thing that I think we need to know over here. We keep conjuring these things up as if they're big stories, but they're not over there. You want to know another one that isn't, Mr. Hewitt?

HH: Yes.

JI: All this thing about reconciliation that the Democrats talk about, oh, they're going to have to reconciliate between the Sunnis and the Shiias, and all that, well, the defense minister said that that is another American issue, that the reconciliation has already taking place, and we are Iraqis first. Now I didn't believe that, and so I stopped at...some...it's kind of a monument they have to the unknown soldier, and there were 9 honor guard people, very sharp soldiers standing there, and through an interpretor, I asked the guy that was leading that group, I asked him the question about the Shiias and the Sunnis. He said no, that's not...I'm a Sunni, my wife is a Shiia, and I can't tell you...I've spent the last nine days with these eight guys. I don't know which one is a Shiia, and which one's a Sunni. We're all Iraqis. And again, he claims that's an American issue, and I believe it is.

HH: What about the Sadr brigades, and Iranian meddling?

JI: Well, you know, Sadr down there...I could never figure him out, because he was the one, after all, Saddam Hussein murdered his father, his father in law, his brother and all that, and then he turns around and defends him. So the guy, I don't think, has any credibility there. He has a small following because of his father, but he himself does not have the credibility. He's of the mentality that he will do anything that will get attention to him, if he thought that he could be a dictator, and move in where Saddam Hussein used to be, and he probably does believe that, he will try to do that. But Sadr is not a credible force in Iraq.

HH: What do the Iraqis think about the nuclear ambitions of their neighbors, President Ahmadinejead, and the mullahs of Iran?

JI: Well, I didn't ask them specifically about that, but they volunteered something that I thought was really interesting. They said don't worry so much about the leaders over in Iran. He said the people in Iran are intermingled. Their families are related to the families in Iraq. They talk to each other. And all of a sudden, they're realizing that in Iraq, women are voting, and women are going to school, and all these wonderful things that are happening, their infrastructure is back, better than it was before the war, and they're saying hey, I'd kind of like to get in on that. So I think the Iranians have a problem because of the successes we're having in Iraq.

HH: Senator Inhofe, do you approve of negotiating with the Iranians, and would you rule out military force, or recommending military force if they move forward with their nuclear program?

JI: You know, I'm on the Armed Services Committee, and as an individual, I would say it could take military force. Frankly, I'm more concerned about the Chinese than I am the Iranians. So you're probably asking the wrong guy.

HH: All right. We'll come back to that. Let me switch subjects over to the Armed Services Committee. Your colleague, John Kerry of Massachusetts, wants to attach an amendment to the armed services bill, that will call for a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. Your reaction to that?

JI: Well, let me go back, and instead of giving you my reaction, you know what that is, but give the reaction of the defense minister. He said...no, it wasn't. It was the national security advisor. He said Americans leaving too soon is a recipe for disaster, a civil war, right when we're winning the war. And they all agree with that. This would be something which just can't happen. And I don't believe...John Kerry, you know, he believes all that stuff. But I don't think there are many Democrats who are going to vote with him on that.

HH: All right. Let me just ask you about...you've just left a briefing from Secretary Rice and Rumsfeld. Are they as upbeat as your interlocutors in Iraq?

JI: Well, they...when we have these confidential briefings, in which I can't say too much about, but we had a full house there of Democrats and Republicans, they have to be very careful not to show as much optimism as I can, because then, they'll have to end up facing these people again, and they'll say well, this is what you said at this time. So they're saying we're cautiously optimistic, but we're very pleased with the new ministers, and the fact that their government is now in the position to run itself. And nobody ever believed that they'd be able to get these ministers confirmed, and have people that are mixed all the way from...every tribe represented there. And so, you could tell they were pleased about that.