How Will Obama Handle the War on Terror?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," November 5, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: President-elect Obama will have some serious decisions to make about the future of our country's foreign policy. How will the world view us now? And will his promise to quickly withdraw from Iraq be implemented?
Joining us now with analysis, former commander of the United State Central Command, General Tommy Franks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Welcome back, sir. Good to have you on the program tonight.
TOMMY FRANKS, FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Thank you, sir. Great to be with you.
• Video: Watch Sean and Alan's interview with Tommy Franks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}COLMES: Thank you. The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, says his government is confident that the president-elect will not jeopardize the security of Iraq with too hasty a withdrawal. Do you agree?
FRANKS: I do agree.
COLMES: You agree that he will do the right thing, and that there is a time line, actually, that the United States and Iraq is working on, which would have us out — in fact, President Bush has been working on this — we'd be out by 2011. So that's pretty much in keeping with what Barack Obama has said he would do.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And yet we've heard lots of back and forth about a time line. So that seems to be what Iraqis want, right?
FRANKS: Well, I think what we want, in essence, is what the Iraqis also want, Alan, and that is to be in a position to provide for their own security at the time we withdraw, and I believe it will happen just that way.
COLMES: So, with President-elect Obama about to take office, you don't feel that, in any way, it jeopardizes how well things will go in terms of getting out of Iraq? You're pretty confident about it?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FRANKS: I'm confident about the relationship between the president-elect, Barack Obama, and the military forces of our country.
You know, I think you and I have talked before, but each and every one of these young people who joins our military raises his right hand and swears to support the Constitution of the United States of America and to follow the orders of the president of the United States. I believe that they'll do that — that with honor and dignity.
And I believe that these — these military leaders will share — will share their mind with the president when Senator Obama becomes the president, and I believe that we'll see a good outcome, yes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}COLMES: And do you think that the outcome will be as good as it would have been if John McCain had been elected?
FRANKS: One never knows, and I don't think — I don't think it serves — I don't think it serves any of us to look at what could have been, should have been, or would have been. We're blessed to live in a democracy, and — and the republic spoke last night. And we honor that, and I think we all get together and move forward as one team.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: General, good to see you, my friend. Sean Hannity here. Appreciate your being here.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FRANKS: And to you, sir. Good to see you, Sean.
HANNITY: You're a great American, sir.
FRANKS: Thank you, sir.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HANNITY: Let me ask you this. We are leaving victorious in large part because of Senator McCain and President Bush's advocacy of the surge. You would agree with that statement, right? And if Senator Obama had his way, we probably — we would have left, and we wouldn't have been victorious, true or false?
FRANKS: What I — what I think, Sean, is that a great many actions, some occurred very early, and some as recently as the surge, have produced the — have produced what we're after in Iraq, and that is a trend that's moving in the right direction.
HANNITY: Yes, well, but again, if we go back, and this is the question I want to ask you. So Senator Obama is going to be the commander in chief. So my question is, you know, how do the troops feel when, in the middle of a war, he accused them of air-raiding villages and killing civilians; when in the middle of a war Joe Biden warned him and said don't cut off funding for the troops or else thousands will die? He promised not to do it, then he voted to cut off the funding anyway.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now, if I'm — if I'm a soldier, I wouldn't trust you if you were my commander in chief, if you did that. Is he going to have any problems with — is he going to have any problems with the military?
FRANKS: Sean — Sean, he's not going to have any problems with the military for the reason that — that I said a minute ago. Support and defend the Constitution and follow the orders of the president of the United States.
You know, it's very interesting that, while you and I and a great many others in this country sit around and talk about what might have been, and many of us are frustrated — a lot of wonderful conservative friends of mine are very frustrated today. But the fact remains that you will see an instant change of loyalty to a new president of the United States come January.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HANNITY: I don't doubt that.
FRANKS: And there will be— and there will be no question about it. And I'll even say this, Sean. As we have a new commander in chief, and as the new commander in chief comes to know and appreciate these men and women who serve, he, too, is a lifelong learner. And I predict that some of his views will change as he comes to know the people in our military. And I — and I believe that.
HANNITY: General — General, I hope you're right, but his stated promise in this campaign, and this is — this is where I'm concerned. And I wish him success, in large part because I care about these brave men and women, as you know.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FRANKS: Sure.
HANNITY: And — and we've done a lot for the military families, and we're continuing, and we're going to have an announcement at the end of the show today.
But, you know, he promised he's going to cut tens of billions of dollars in defense spending. He's going to stop the advancement of nuclear weapon systems, strategic defense. He's going to meet with rogue dictators, and he has stated that Iran is a tiny country and not a serious threat.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}I — I have — while I want him to succeed, if he holds onto those views, I believe Hillary Clinton is right, that they are extremely naive and dangerous. I'm hoping he evolves, as you say, but there's nothing in his past that gives me that confidence. Why are you so confident, General, on that front?
FRANKS: The reason that I am confident is because, just as America spoke last evening, I believe that any — I'll use the word "capricious" — that any act that moves against the recommendations of those men and women who have been — who have been promoted and selected to provide advice to the president of the United States, I believe American would speak again.
Look, Sean, here's the metric that we ought to use. You and I and Alan ought to use this metric. Here it is. For more than seven years we have not seen an attack on the soil of the United States of America.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HANNITY: Thanks to George Bush and John McCain, frankly.
FRANKS: If seven — if seven years from today we still have not seen an attack on the soil of the United States of America, then you and I should congratulate each other and congratulate this president for having done a great job.
HANNITY: And the last president — and the last president, George Bush, who gets slammed all the time, right?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FRANKS: Without a doubt. Without a doubt.
COLMES: And if we are attacked, it's not necessarily the fault of Democrats or the president either.
FRANKS: The fact of the matter is that I've been saying for a long time, there's plenty of blame to go around.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Look, we live in a republic. We live in a democracy. God bless America. And the fact of the matter is that we were able to exercise our option yesterday. We have done that.
COLMES: Let me ask you about...
FRANKS: There's something to be celebrated there, my friend.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}COLMES: Absolutely. Let me ask you about the Tommy Franks Museum.
FRANKS: Yes, sir.
COLMES: What's going on?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FRANKS: I'm sitting right in the — I'm sitting right in the middle of it right now. It is a genuine — it's a genuine treat. We're going to open this, sort of a pre-opening, if you will, for veterans, policemen, firemen, their families, and all Americans who love them on this coming Saturday.
And the purpose of this is just to say, "Hey, guys and gals who serve our country with honor and dignity, thanks a lot for what you do for all of us." And so this thing's coming along real well, and I appreciate your support of it, too.
COLMES: All right, sir. Thanks so much for coming on the program, General. Thank you very much for your time.
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