This is a partial transcript from “Hannity & Colmes”, April 12, 2004, that has been edited for clarity.
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: For more on the situation in Iraq we’re joined by Fox News military analyst Lieutenant General Tom McInerney and Major General Paul Vallely who have written a new book called “Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror,” a fascinating book whether we agree or disagree. A well-written book.
Let me ask you, you lay out eight nations that we have to focus upon here?
MAJ. GEN. PAUL VALLELY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): That’s right. Correct. Those eight nations are the web of terror, what we call the web of evil. These are the nation states, for decades now, that have been sourcing, funding, giving support for training, and the proliferation of terrorists throughout some 50 some countries now.
COLMES: You make the point, also, that al Qaeda is, General McInerney, is housed by states. You need nation states — they need nation states in order to get the resources they need.
And so this is not about some random group of people floating around the world. These are nation states involved with it?
GEN. TOM MCINERNEY, “ENDGAME” AUTHOR: Yes, Alan. When people say go after al Qaeda, no one asks them, well where is al Qaeda? Al Qaeda is in 50 different states, nations.
Eight key nations, which we talked about: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and North Korea, are the key enabling states. If they cooperate with us, terrorism withers.
COLMES: And if they don’t — you have a plan of attack, and I use that word broadly, whether it’s done economically or whether it’s done through negotiations or militarily.
You actually come up with a plan of military attack for countries like Syria, where you say if they don’t cooperate, if they don’t expel terror groups and give up Iraq’s WMDs, which you think are there, we should topple their regime?
VALLELY: They need to be removed. And of course, there are a number of different ways to do that but you take Syria and Iran right now. Those regimes either have to comply. Or they’re defiant.
And if they’re defiant the world community has to deal with them because they are destabilizing the entire Middle East and the world.
And so you have different strategies and that’s what a blueprint for victory is, coming up with an endgame strategy that’s going to terminate the activities of these states that are sponsoring terrorism.
COLMES: General McInerney, you talk about going to North Korea and getting in line with South Korea and you have an attack plan for North Korea, if they don’t want to cooperate. And you’re pretty bold about it. You’re talking about a war with North Korea?
MCINERNEY: Absolutely. North Korea is an easier campaign for us in Iraq, because the distances are much closer. I worked 11 years on war plans in South Korea and watched them build those hardened artillery sites. We don’t want them to do it.
But they must understand that we can take military action and take them in 30 to 60 days. Jim Woolsey and I wrote an article in the “Wall Street Journal” and pointed that out. We have to worry about the nukes.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: We have to worry about the nukes?
MCINERNEY: Their nukes but if you preempt them, and that’s the key thing, in our strategy, it’s preemption against North Korea, but they must understand that we’re willing to do that.
And that’s why negotiating with China and the other members is so crucial.
HANNITY: Let me first applaud both of you. “Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror,” this is a great book, folks. This is what it is.
What’s troublesome to me is, in the political sense, the president has a problem. I love what the president has done in Iraq and what he’s done for the war on terror. And I think we’re only really beginning, as you point out — there are other nations we’re going to have to deal with in the future, evil names, regimes.
But then you have people like Ted Kennedy doing the bidding for John Kerry in a political season, using the term Vietnam, terms like quagmire, politicizing the war, does it render a president impotent, to get the job done?
MCINERNEY: No, but it is absolutely aiding and abetting. It is disgraceful to use those kind of words.
My first tour in Vietnam of four, President Kennedy was there. The next two was President Johnson. We should not politicize this.
HANNITY: But we have, haven’t we?
MCINERNEY: We have, and that is disgraceful.
VALLELY: It absolutely is. When you talk to those soldiers over there and they hear this from the likes of a Kennedy, who never served, by the way, doesn’t understand what war is but talks a lot about it, that they politicize this to the point that we have to make — make the world and the entire world understand, that is a world war, and we have to win it.
HANNITY: This is point I’ve been trying to make. Evil is existing in the world and in a way that we never imagined, when you factor in the technology, technological advances and weapons of mass destruction.
The whole configuration of world peace has changed, and if we don’t win these wars, we have to defeat the enemy. Isn’t that the point you’re making here?
VALLELY: Well, one of the chapters we talked about are the nightmares, Sean. These are the worst things that can happen. And they are building towards nuclear weapons, more than dirty bombs that could simultaneously be detonated in maybe six, eight, 10 cities in the United States simultaneously. What does that do to the world?
HANNITY: 9/11 is a preview of coming attractions? Isn’t it?
VALLELY: That’s exactly right. That’s why it’s important that the fight is going on over there. And they cannot let Iraq be successful. That’s why what is going on now is to…
HANNITY: So the president has to risk losing and finish the job there, risk losing an election, risk letting Kerry politicize all of this, because it is pivotal we win this thing?
MCINERNEY: Or it will be here.
VALLELY: That’s right.
MCINERNEY: We either do it there and get these nations to cooperate.
COLMES: Good luck with the book. Thank you, sir.
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