Sunday, September 14, 2014

This Week with George Stephanopoulos – September 14, 2014

Host: Martha Raddatz
Guests:
Alex Marquardt
Jeff Zeleny
Steve Ganyard
Lt. Col. John Nagl (Ret.)
Dan Benjamin
John Cohen

Raddatz: omg another vicious
beheading by ISIS this time
of a British citizen

Marquardt: Prime Minister Cameron
called them fucking evil and wankers
and the dogs bollocks

Marquardt: Obama has bombed
ISIS 160 times prompting the
question why won't Obama act

Kerry: we want Saudi Arabia on board

Marquardt: Turkey and Egypt
support fighting ISIS but only
if no one notices

Marquardt: Obama admits it will
take years to crush ISIS if ever

Raddatz: does this beheading make
it more likely the British will get on
board fighting ISIS?

MacDonald: well the British government 
called ISIS the embodiment of evil

Raddatz: there are even British terrorists

MacDonald: the top terrorist beheading
innocent people is a British rapper

Raddatz: whoa

MacDonald: British muslim leaders
condemned ISIS as heretics

Raddatz: why behead Westerners
it seems intentionally provocative

Ross: because they can't attack
America or Britain conventionally

Raddatz: General how can the US defeat ISIS?

Cartwright: ISIS is taking control 
of the Tigris and Euphrates

Raddatz: omg they own cradle of civilization

Cartwright: and the crib of 
can't we just get along

Raddatz: what's the first step toward victory

Cartwright: we will give Iraqi troops
air cover for their retreat from ISIS

Raddatz: where else can we bomb?

Cartwright: it depends on if we get permission

Raddatz: what about Syria – can
they shoot down our planes?

Cartwright: maybe

Raddatz: can we destroy ISIS?!?
Please?!?

Cartwright: only forces on
the ground can do that

Zeleny: should Congress take
a vote on starting a war on Syria?

Kaine: Congress declares war!

Obama: I don't need your damn approval
but give me weapons for moderate fighters

Manchin: I don't trust these crazy rebels

Boehner: this is too serious to
trust the weirdos in Congress

Begich: we shouldn't get involved
in another quagmire in the middle east

[ break ]

Raddatz: welcome Dennis

McDonough: nice to see you Martha

Raddatz: will the British
finally help us destroy ISIS?

McDonough: damn right

Raddatz: will anyone else
join our coalition?

McDonough: we will keep sending
John Kerry to Turkey until they
agree to fight ISIS

Raddatz: are we at war with ISIS?

McDonough: we are at war with
ISIL just like we are at war with al-Qaeda

Raddatz: what does that mean?

McDonough: bombs!

Raddatz: how do you kill 30,000
ISIS troops without US ground troops?

McDonough: we get the Iraqi
army do it for us

Raddatz: we trained them for eight
years and they ran like cowards
the last time they fought ISIS

McDonough: yes but now we
have a new multi-ethnic Iraqi army

Raddatz: how many troops
will you send to Iraq?

McDonough: enough

Raddatz: thanks for coming

[ break ]

Raddatz: what about the Iraqi army?

Nagl: I trained them and trust me
they are not ready to fight ISIS

Raddatz: is this a war or anti-terror effort?

Ganyard: ISIS are assholes
but they are not terrorists

Raddatz: they're not?

Ganyard: no they are an army with tanks

Raddatz: does it matter whether
we call it terror or an army?

Ganyard: yes because words matter

Raddatz: what about mission
creep which is inevitable

Nagl: Obama is right – we are at war
except it will take more than he said

Raddatz: how many days until we
defeat all the crazies in the middle east?

Ganyard: never – is never good for you?

[ break ]

Raddatz: omg the Secretary of Defense
said ISIS is an imminent threat to your neighborhood!

White House: whoa hold on a second

Raddatz: 90% of Americans
are terrified of ISIS

Raddatz: How serious a threat is
ISIS to the average American?

Cohen: deadly serious because
there are many Westerners in ISIS

Benjamin: it's totally exaggerated threat

Raddatz: oh?

Benjamin: sure – we've never
had foreign fighters here even
after wars on terror and Afghanistan and Iraq

Raddatz: how do you fight an invisible
and deadly enemy like terrorists?

Cohen: ISIS is recruiting Americans!

Raddatz: why do Americans join ISIS?
Do they have a really good
health care plan or something?

Benjamin: it's not about us –
it's about chaos in the middle east

Raddatz: thanks for coming guys