Topic: The Obama administration and our homeland security.

This is a rush transcript from “Your World With Neil Cavuto,” January 5, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: K.T. McFarland joins me right now. She’s a former assistant secretary of defense, all of this on the same day the president is coming up with a plan to deal with this sort of stuff.

KATHLEEN TROIA MCFARLAND, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Yes.

And I think that’s why his address is late. He’s probably waiting…

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Probably waiting. Very good point.

MCFARLAND: He does not want to make a speech and then, two minutes later, have it be overtaken very events.

CAVUTO: What does he have to say?

MCFARLAND: Look, the biggest problem that the president has, it’s not — don’t just fire one or two people and think that solves it. That doesn’t solve it.

We have — we have looked the wrong way on this whole terrorist issue from the very beginning. And both Presidents Bush and Obama have done it. They have been looking for the weapons terrorists might use. Now, that’s useful, but we are still taking off our shoes, long after that shoe bomber has gone off doing something else. We need to start looking for terrorists.

CAVUTO: It was because of that guy that we had to take off our shoes.

MCFARLAND: Yes. Well, we need to look at terrorists.

We need to not racial-profile, but we need to terrorist-profile. We need to, because, if we look just at the weapons that they might use, take off your shoes, don’t use that bottle of water, don’t take that toothpaste tube on the plane, we are always going to be a step behind.

These guys are clever. They’re adaptive. They have now moved on. For example, they’re not in Afghanistan. They’re in Yemen. But they’re not even in Yemen. They’re in cyberspace. If this announcement that Catherine Herridge was talking about, it appeared on a blog, that means Al Qaeda has moved on to cyberspace.

We don’t — we’re always looking for them where they used to be. We are always looking for the weapon they used before. We have got to look ahead of this.

CAVUTO: And you pointed out be careful what you think you see…

MCFARLAND: Right.

CAVUTO: … that this could all be an elaborate head-fake, this entire incident. What do you mean by that?

MCFARLAND: Well, it might be a head-fake, but you have to make sure that it’s not.

But, on the other hand, what are we looking for? We’re still looking at airplanes. We’re still looking at shoe bombers. We’re still looking in suitcases. Where else should we be looking? We should be looking at ports. One of the things that is a very vulnerable part of the United States infrastructure is ports.

What if a ship comes in, a pleasure craft comes in to Manhattan, and it has got an explosive device on it and it parks underneath the 59th Street Bridge, it blows it up? Then what happens? Well, Manhattan shuts down. But every other city in the United States, every mayor says, gee, I might be next. We shut those down.

We’re looking at this in a very after-the-fact catchup ball kind of way. And we need to look proactively, what is our port security?

CAVUTO: You might be right.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: A statement out one of the Al Qaeda operatives who was saying, we’re going to hit you by water next and all that.

MCFARLAND: Right.

CAVUTO: Nevertheless, as we look at this scene in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, where they have a partial shutdown because bomb sniffers are looking for a bomb that might have come in and luggage from abroad, but, nevertheless, everything always goes back to the airports. Everything always goes back to the planes. Why is that?

MCFARLAND: Yes. Well, I think they have found that the majority of the American economy flies, one way or another.

And American — that’s where we are the most vulnerable psychologically.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: So, they know this could have an economic effect?

MCFARLAND: You know it could have an economic effect and you know it could has a psychological effect.

The other thing I think that is very important in this whole debate is, why are we treating these guys like citizens? Why are we giving potential terrorists or suspected terrorists the rights of citizens and putting them in our civilian courts?

CAVUTO: Well, now, on this news, we have talk that these Yemenis who were going to back home from Gitmo might be resent to Illinois.

MCFARLAND: They’re heading back.

CAVUTO: What do you make of that?

MCFARLAND: Yes, right.

Well, why are we endangering Illinois? Why are we endangering New York City? They have a trial of the sheik in New York City. When we take — for example, when the Nigerian, when the Christmas Day bomber got off that plane, he started talking right away to the FBI.

But — and what he said was, they’re more like me. There are more coming.

But then what happened? He got his Miranda rights read to him. He’s not a citizen. He doesn’t have Miranda rights. He then got lawyered up, and then he clammed up.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Is that so? Really, is that what happened?

MCFARLAND: He did not start — he stopped talking.

Now, what does he know? We don’t know. But wouldn’t it be nice if we knew who, when, where, why, what might the next terrorist attack be?

CAVUTO: All right. This is a photo we’re getting from the meeting a few minutes ago that the president had with all his top security folks and top Cabinet agencies.

MCFARLAND: That is the White House Situation Room.

CAVUTO: OK. Thank you for telling me that.

MCFARLAND: I worked there for seven years.

CAVUTO: Really?

MCFARLAND: Yes.

CAVUTO: All right.

So, he’s going to glean thoughts and recommendations from everyone on this team. What do they generally tell a president?

MCFARLAND: Well, first of all, they’re all going to be protecting their turf and saying, it wasn’t my fault. All right? You have got everybody around that table…

CAVUTO: Really?

MCFARLAND: … who has a piece of that action. And they’re all going to be saying, well, it was somebody else. I couldn’t have been expected…

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Well, who gets served up? Is Janet Napolitano there? Yes, I think I see her.

MCFARLAND: I think that’s her on the right.

CAVUTO: So, is she — what is going to happen to her? Yes, she is on the right there. OK.

MCFARLAND: Well, I think that she probably will not have that job a year from now.

CAVUTO: Really?

MCFARLAND: But I don’t think that solves the problem.

If you just fire somebody, that’s window dressing. You have got to address the root of the problem, which is, we’re treating citizens like terrorists and terrorists like citizens, that we’re giving civilian rights to people who don’t deserve them, and that we’re always looking at the last attack, like a general always fights the last war, and we’re not looking ahead to what the next attack might be.

CAVUTO: Well, how quickly can the president turn around a meeting like that and, in a few minutes, go before the American people with a list of recommendations?

(CROSSTALK)

MCFARLAND: Oh, I think pretty quickly.

CAVUTO: Really?

MCFARLAND: I think — yes. I think that what he has got to do is, he’s got to reassure the American people one way or another that he has got this under control.

I mean, the problem that President Obama has had in this whole issue, as in others, is, he says everything is just fine, and then the average guy on the street says, huh? This doesn’t make any sense. I have been taking my shoes off for eight years. I have been checking my hand luggage and standing in those long lines for eight years. But I know I’m not any more secure…

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Do you think Americans are more open to the possibility, though, now, that, look, we’re going to be taking images of you in your birthday suit, and you just deal with it?

MCFARLAND: Sure. I think Americans want to be safe, and they want to be reassured by the government that they’re being kept safe, and that all the extra efforts that they’re making are worth something, instead of the notion that some guy is getting on a plane carrying what he was carrying, no return ticket, no luggage, paid cash, and dad had turned him in, you know, three months ago.

I mean, that’s just…

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: How does that happen, by the way? I don’t want to push the time here, but such a sequential breakdown in communication, that’s pretty explosive stuff.

MCFARLAND: Yes. Every — every step of the way. Whatever — the one thing that really should have set off bells was in Nigeria when here’s one of the most respected members of that community went in and met with officials in the American Embassy and in effect turned in his son.

I mean, can you imagine as — what that would have taken to say, I’m worried about my son; I think he’s been radicalized?

CAVUTO: What, did they just drop the ball on it and just…

MCFARLAND: You don’t know. And I bet you everybody sitting around that room is trying to pretend it wasn’t them who dropped the ball.

CAVUTO: But you have been with presidents when they do this sort of thing.

MCFARLAND: Yes.

CAVUTO: Do they get really ballistic and just say, what the hell happened here? Or do they…

(CROSSTALK)

MCFARLAND: Some do, and some don’t. This president, I don’t think, gets terribly ballistic.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Who was the most ballistic president who you worked…

(CROSSTALK)

MCFARLAND: Reagan when he felt that something was very wrong, Nixon occasionally.

But, yes, I would say Reagan when he thought that the American people were being snookered or something bad had been done to them, because then he — he didn’t get mad often, but, when he got mad, he was very firm, and he followed through with what he said.

CAVUTO: As do you, young lady.

MCFARLAND: Thank you.

CAVUTO: K.T. McFarland, thank you very, very much, my friend. I appreciate it. Happy new year to you. All right.

With the Detroit bomber we now have a clear pattern on how the obama administration deals with terrorists – try them in civilian courts with the full rights of American citizens.

When the young Mr. Abdulmutullab got off the plane in Detroit he had started talking to the FBI. He told them there were more like him – Yemeni trained suicide bombers – coming to America. But once we granted him Miranda rights, he got him lawyered up and clammed up. Does he know who the next terrorist attacker is, where he’ll strike, what weapons he will use? Now we’ll never know. Yet homeland Security Secretary Napolitano claimed the system worked.

The Attorney General has decided to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks, in public civilian courts – even though the evidence gathered against him might be thrown out of court, his testimony gives Al Qaeda a propaganda platform, and the trial presents a irresistible target for suicide bombers.
The Obama Administration remains committed to closing Gitmo and releasing some of the prisoners to Yemen, though previous Gitmo grads have returned to Al Qaeda, rather than join the Yemen Rotary Club.

And they’re so committed to political correctness that they refuse to use profiling to identify potential terrorists.
Contrast that to the way they’re treating three Navy Seals who captured an Iraqi terrorist. They’ve been court martialed for giving the terrorist a bloody lip.

President Obama believes many of the ills besetting America are the result of the Bush Administration policies and if we reverse course and apologize and are deferential enough, those ills will disappear. So far, it’s not worked. Al Qaeda’s spread to new countries, recruitment is up and they’re sending a new wave of suicide bombers to attack us.

The President is treating terrorists like citizens and citizens like terrorists. It’s not working – it’s not making us safer – and it’s time to stop.

President Obama has said, time and again, that Iran has until the end of the year to negotiate in good faith over its nuclear program.
The deadline is now just days away and Iran’s response? Just the opposite.
Consider this, In the last several months Iran has:

- ratcheted up its missile testing program and now has missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and reaching Israel, the Middle East and parts of Europe.

- put its nuclear enrichment program on steroids to make weapons grade uranium.

- revealed it has the blueprint and trigger mechanisms necessary for a nuclear weapon.

- delivered shipment after shipment of missiles and armaments to Hezbollah, and Hamas, to pre-arm them for a possible war against Israel.

- and now sent a small revolutionary guard unit into iraq to seize an oil field.

- seized three hapless American hikers near the Iran-Iraq border and threatens to try them for espionage – which carries the death penalty.

- harrassed British sailors in the Persian gulf

- stolen an election from reformers and brutally crushed a pro-democracy movement.

- formed an alliance with Latin America’s biggest America hater, Hugo Chavez.

Looks more like Iran is girding for war, rather than preparing to negotiate in good faith.

In his Inaugural Address President Obama extended America’s ‘hand of friendship’ to Iran if they would only ‘unclench their fist’. There can be no doubt remaining that his approach of conciliation, apology and goodwill has been a colossal failure that has only served to embolden President Ahmandinejad.

The end of the year deadline? It’s pretty clear what President Ahmaninejad will do – nothing. The question remains: What will President Obama do? Will he make good on his threat to punish Iran with crippling gasoline and banking sanctions? Or will this deadline come and go?

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT
(may not be 100% accurate)

” Curtis Sliwa is on line. Curtis week nights from 10 PM 1 PM. He was surprised supply the surprise. Is global file would say. The Nobel Peace Prize — for this year. And then as Barack Obama went into his compound to me. — those who differ about the policy that we need to engage in in Afghanistan. Whether deuce side when the crystal and Petraeus who say we need to build up our troop strength in Afghanistan. We’ll go with the vice president crazy uncle Joe Biden wants to send out his teams just to take out al-Qaeda operatives and to leave the — not alone. You have to believe that depression and had on his mind it — said. I’ve been anointed as the prince of peace over the world. Through projection in the Nobel Peace Prize committee has stated it is my vision to eliminate nuclear weapons to bring peace to this earth. That is the reason that they have so much faith in me that I’m going to be able to do it. How is the prince of peace and I it’s India and send more troops in Afghanistan. To kill more Afghans to — tightly bound to Gilmore al-Qaeda. And Arab Americans and our allies killed in the process. But then reality sets — and normally an ally and most matters with the president of the United States. She stands. And speaks of common sense California senator Dianne Feinstein.”

” I don’t know how you put somebody in who is this cracker Jack as general — crystal. Who gives the president very solid recommendations. And not take those recommendations. If you’re not gonna pull out if you wanna take the recommendations. Then. — you you you put your people in such jeopardy.”

” KT McFarland pentagon official under President Reagan. I have got to believe that that unexpected Nobel Peace Prize being delivered to the president of the United States. May weigh heavily. On what he decides to do with the future of Afghanistan since. This world body has projected into him that he is the prince of peace. Would that they’d all have an impact on — thinking.”

” Well I think — become profitable lot of problems mean first of all. It puts down a marker and some guide posts by which to judge Obama because that the Nobel. Committees said you know we’re giving this to you because you’re going to seek you know what you’re going to see world disarm nuclear disarmament. What about a year from now if Iran have nuclear weapons North Korea’s nuclear weapons. Pakistan in a dangerous situation where Jihad they. Could get their hands on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and so what does this mean any health problems but to get rid of all nuclear weapons. Is the president who presides over nuclear proliferation. And then as you said with Afghanistan’s. OK so president from someone bringing dialogue and peace. But what happens if Afghanistan he had to — up — it puts — very typical political position and — I hope he doesn’t do. Is decides somehow that since the world. Has made him the prince of peace issue. Cleverly set that seminaries not America’s commander in chief to the extent because he’s thinking that he’s got to be the world leader for –”

” Well you know Kim Jong mentally ill behind the rights to a curtain of North Korea sent — not fight awards to celebrate the fact that the president. Was anointed the Nobel Peace Prize but started shooting five short range missiles. Really flexing again cracked his bravado.”

” Yeah — and — the thing if if President Obama has been he’s got anything for all the things that he’s. They talked about doing he’s given some terrific speeches I absolutely. But look at while Reagan my — And if somebody that you admire greatly Ronald Reagan had hundreds of millions of people free from the opposite of the Soviet Union communism he perched on the iron curtain. He eliminated much certainty eliminated. Campus thousands of nuclear weapons and honorable mentions. By the Nobel committee and yet present Obama — seven great speeches. And he gets the Nobel peace aren’t perfect here.”

” Now over the weekend you know the vice president Joe Biden seems to have the — of the president in on the strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Once again whispers to the president. Mr. President. You see the militant attack on the military headquarters of Pakistan want me dead and embarrassment for the Pakistan need leadership. They are preparing an assault on the country’s most entrenched Taliban stronghold. In that northwest Carter right opposite Afghanistan. This is what we want this is what we wanted to Pakistan to draw them into the battle. Good or bad.”

” Well here’s the problem the Biden plan is just being known where he’s saying we can pull out of Afghanistan — we can greatly reduce their — and Afghanistan. And operate outside of Afghanistan focused on Pakistan. And sending drone attacks in the Pakistan. We’ve got something that’s not the Biden plan that actually the Rumsfeld plan because that was — Rumsfeld did in Iraq and what Rumsfeld did in Afghanistan. These were counter terrorist plans letter word character bad guys don’t worry about hearts minds and they written faster.”

” Now it’s. I I could CK ET dad in fact. As the Pakistan any sort of prepare for revenge to strike at the heart the tally bonds’ grand. The northwest stronghold. That if America had ramped up its troops strength they could move them towards the Afghanistan what it. Because we know as soon as Pakistan’s strikes with its military might I don’t think — gonna stay — battle. They’re gonna flee across the the mountains into Afghanistan. Right — could be fleeing right into the arms. Rides and the Americans.”

” Yeah and that’s what channel the crystals plant I think it in great part is which is the pincer movement in other words make sure of is held up and in Afghanistan. You’ve got you know al-Qaeda they’re now but if you can close that — purchase them. And at the same time Pakistan. Has started the fight in Pakistan has gotten very serious about going after. Taliban extremists and al-Qaeda in Pakistan moved him to that Waziristan which is that area in the border. You’ve got Afghanistan. With the law saying you can’t come back here and you’ve got Pakistan pushing them and you — them. Into that Marion you can try and kill — the time.”

” So what do you think is going on in these discussions with the president and he certainly focusing a lot of attention on it. He wants people to know that he’s hearing from all different sides. But I have to believe that he’s leaning in a certain direction I cannot believe that he is a free agent on this.”

” Well I think what’s happened is he sat out a goal. Which was to deny al-Qaeda Pakistan and Afghanistan he chose. Hillary fired field commander. McCarron and he put his kind and the crystal who is universally recognized says that — national expert on counterterrorism. And then he set — came across a group pulled together your plan and the crystal is senate joined and that sticker shock. Am about a had no idea that it was gonna car makers who were called for more troops. Yes the different strategies that more troops and a prolonged period and I — I think Obama’s trying to find a way out of — because. He knows that the — the war is no longer Procter the American people he knows that politically. Natalie is sound they’ve spent. The general public doesn’t want to see an increase in troops in Afghanistan. Nor — they wanna see a prolonged situation try to get that Obama is credit. Grasping. To try to find it during easier way out of this Chinese if I’m very sure they’re probably isn’t.”

” Now there’s a major public relations campaign going Mumbai that holly month. On one hand to us to the west. They’re basically saying we’re independent we’re autonomous mean you needn’t be afraid of us. Get out of Afghanistan leave this sandbox. Its annual have to worry about us win not common — the when not in essence without saying it they’ve basically saying to us we’re not al-Qaeda we just want Afghanistan back. Others have said wait a — you can’t really separate the — month from al-Qaeda. Because they have intertwining. In interest and they’ve been together before and they continue to battle us together from time to time. From your point of view KT yeah ten we isolate to tell — about can we separate them from al-Qaeda can we eventually make a deal with them so that. We will no longer have to be at war with.”

” Well that’ll of them I’m encouraged I was and Afghanistan in May and it was very clear that there is that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are two separate groups. And that there — better than one Taliban group there’s the Afghan Taliban that Pakistan’s Taliban. Also in Afghanistan are drug lords who were fighting there are some regional warlords who are fighting and so the question would be for — from the — can’t he do in Afghanistan. What — perpetrators did. In Iraq which is to peel off. Some of the militants. Who may not be wedded — going after the United States or terrorism or al-Qaeda. But who are just there for the fighting can you leave them off and can you. The flying into Afghanistan as an al-Qaeda free zone. And doesn’t come threatening United States well I think that’s that’s a very good outcome from our point if you need to rebuild Afghanistan we don’t need to make it into Sweden. But what we do wanna do is — al-Qaeda at the ability to feed off of the Taliban which is what it did before.”

” Is that gonna just require out — being. Al-Qaeda. For the for at least temporarily. The support of the warlords. Where opium growers. And the — nine so that we can wash our hands of Afghanistan.”

” Well here’s the thing you know some of them you’re not gonna be able to bribe or any other as they — the ones — purchase warrant eternal enemies of the United States. And everything we stand for and that’s that’s frankly is ridiculous can now are there are some who work or sort of pressure and curator terrorized ensure that. To be Taliban supporters and sympathizers or cooperate or during able — Cassel can you bit and you peel those people lost because you offer them. You don’t — incentives shall we say to be diplomatic about it. And those are the ones as — for everyone you can buy office one last start fighting shirt actually again hatchet so to the extent that we can go around the bags of money like we did. In Iraq where we — around to the Sunni chieftains consent here you know come over to our side we’re giving some money for your own people. And down late and — against us or join arms whipped us. To fight the Shiite militias and that’s how we were successful. Initially in Iraq and I think it’s great — that’s true that there can’t pitch but what you do the Biden plan you know the I don’t plan to means going after terrorists. Now if you have a lot civilian casualties we lose the hearts and minds. You just say it’s vice president Biden expected going to be feeding of the intelligence we need to go after the terrorists. It’s gonna work.”

” I just don’t understand how the present in on this issue. Is relying on his vice president. When he has so much information in the counties with the vice president kind of saying I would think vice president would be buttressed by. Some major commander some major general who’s been in the field who can give his own opinion. But it just seems like all of a sudden. Joe Biden has become the wartime console leery of the president of the United States to take that frightens me.”

” Incorporated for two reasons one Biden’s idea for Iraq with divided into 232 to three. Semi autonomous states. That’s Sunni Shiite and Kurdish. And that was gonna stop Iraq — what we’ve done that we would be an ad that’s — civil war in Iraq would not be the success that it is right now. And for Biden who is not a military expert Kerio — that that. He sat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but it doesn’t mean anything at all these countries probably and senatorial trips. But it doesn’t have the experience to work I’m — general crystal. With a guy. You know he was just you think the guy who with Petraeus to her locker — which is one of the quarry and significant military accomplishment for the last hundred years. And should happen and man like that in position in Afghanistan. And — ask for his advice. And many presents you with advice and then you’re saying right now alliance to — to bigger prize. Senator Biden what do you think — press the button.”

” And then all of a sudden the president turns to his vice president and this is what the vice president tells less — is not good. Less bad is not good less bad is better than more bad. But it made good. Now really. No way it will play if you oil boycott of — less that is not good. Less bad is not good less bad is better than more bad. But it made good imagine. It or what you’d expect advice the president I would say what the hell you talk about.”

” Megabyte is just said to Obama that you can have what you love and it’s — you know it’s a cheaper price that you’re gonna have to pay this is what that this. Taylor fight wars by getting competitive bids. In this regard you wanna go with somebody who can show you how to win.”

” I think KT McFarland do appreciate your — in fact an idea — boy advice from the wartime console area the Barack Obama administration. The vice president crazy uncle Joe by.”

” Less fat is not good less bad is not good less bad is better than more bad. But it made good.”

” Now. How does that relate to the Taliban versus al-Qaeda. Is there anyone out there who is. A linguist. Who’ll understand — talk in anybody can please — to — can give us a call and translate. What crazy uncle Joe Biden has said in no doubt. The advice city is giving to the president of the United States as his now most entrusted what time constantly every. The Curtis nights from 10 PM to what they see how far by the sixth on WTKK.”