Interview with Richard Engel of NBC news in Sharm el-Sheikh

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 26, 2008

May 18, 2008

Mr. Engel, Mr. President, thank you very much for joining me.

The President. Richard. Thank you, sir.

President's Remarks at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel

Mr. Engel. In front of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, you said that negotiating with Iran is pointless. And then you went further, you saying--you said that it was appeasement. Were you referring to Senator Barak Obama? He certainly thought you were.

The President. You know, my policies haven't changed, but evidently the political calendar has. People need to read the speech. You didn't get it exactly right either. What I said was, is that we need to take the words of people seriously. And when, you know, a leader of Iran says that they want to destroy Israel, you got to take those words seriously. And if you don't take them seriously, then it harkens back to a day when we didn't take other words seriously.

It was fitting that I talked about not taking the words of Adolph Hitler seriously on the floor of the Knesset. But I also talked about the need to defend Israel, the need to not negotiate with the likes of Al Qaida and Hizballah and Hamas, and the need to make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon. It was a--but I also talked about a vision of what's possible in the Middle East.

Iran

Mr. Engel. Repeatedly, you've talked about Iran and that you don't want to see Iran develop a nuclear weapon.

The President. Yes.

Mr. Engel. How far away do you think Iran is from developing a nuclear capability?

The President. You know, Richard, I don't want to speculate, and there's a lot of speculation. But one thing is for certain: We need to prevent them from learning how to enrich uranium. And I have made it clear to the Iranians that there is a seat at the table for them if they would verifiably suspend their enrichment. And if not, we'll continue to rally the world to isolate them.

U.S. Foreign Policy/Iran

Mr. Engel. You've been rallying the world. Have you had some success on this Arab tour to try and--and Israeli tour--to mobilize this community against Iran? Is that part of your mission?

The President. No, it's not so much--actually, the place where I'm spending time, in terms of dealing with serious economic isolation, is with our European friends. They're the ones who have had significant trade with the Iranians. We're dealing with it not only in goods and services, trying to convince them to hold back goods and services until there's a verifiable suspension, but also dealing with the Iranian finances.

I don't have to spend too much time in the world--in this part of the world creating concerns about Iran. There is big concern about Iran given the fact that Hizballah is destabilizing Lebanon, Hamas is trying to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, and, of course, Iranian action inside of Iraq.

Iraq/Iran

Mr. Engel. A lot of Iran's empowerment is a result of the war in Iraq. How do you feel--

The President. Yes.

Mr. Engel.--that Iran is--its position in the world is rising because of your actions in Iraq?

The President. See, I'm not so sure I agree with that. That's a premise I don't necessarily agree with. As a matter of fact, I think Iran is troubled by the fact that a young democracy is growing in Iraq. I--you know, this notion about somehow if Saddam Hussein were in power, everything would be fine in the Middle East is a ludicrous notion. Saddam Hussein was a sponsor of terror. And can you imagine what it'd be like to see an arms race between Saddam Hussein and Ahmadi-nejad, in terms of creating instability in the Middle East? As a matter of fact, the way to ultimately defeat those who use terror to destabilize young democracies is to help the young democracies succeed.

Progress in Iraq

Mr. Engel. I've watched Iran's influence grow in Iraq. It's been very steady over the years. What are you going to do to try and counteract--

The President. Yes.

Mr. Engel.--Iran's influence?

The President. Well, Basra, for example, is--we stood by the Prime Minister's decision to move into Basra and to--continue to encourage the Prime Minister to go after Shi'a criminals and Shi'a armed militias that are doing harm to the average Iraqi and, at the same time, encourage him to use some of the Iraqi wealth to improve conditions of life. And that's what's happening. Basra is--it's still obviously got work to be done, but it was a successful operation, as you know better than me. He's now heading into Sadr City--he, the Iraqi Government--all aiming to protect innocent people from people who are operating outside the law. And to the extent that those are folks who are supported by Iran, it will serve as a defeat to Iran.

Iraq is changing. Yon know it better than anybody; you've been spending a lot of time there. And it's in the interest of the United States that we help it continue to change to the better.

Freedom Agenda/Iran

Mr. Engel. You talked about Iran being a major threat to American policies in the region, with Hamas, Hizballah, militia groups in Iraq. Do you intend to finish your term in office with a military action of some kind against Iran?