Bobby Jindal on Screenings- Meet the Press Transcript and Interview
Nov 22, 2010 | 8:38 pm
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Bobby Jindal on Screenings- Meet the Press Transcript and Interview
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...99703#40299703
MR. GREGORY: I, I want to talk, because your book deals a lot with the issue of the role of government. And we'll talk about the gulf oil spill in just a moment. But let me pick up on an area that I asked Secretary Clinton about, the TSA, these airport screeners and some of these searches that are really disturbing people around the country, is this excessive?
GOV. JINDAL: Absolutely. Now, look, let's start off, we cannot be lackadaisical about protecting our country against terrorists, make no mistake about that. But I've got two primary concerns with how they're doing this. First, George Will, Charles Krauthammer, others have made this point...
MR. GREGORY: Conservative columnists.
GOV. JINDAL: Other conservative columnists have made this point; they're not using common sense, they're not using intelligence. Look, there's no reason for them to be doing these body searches of six-year-old, 12-year-old girls traveling from Louisiana to visit their grandparents. We're not talking about profiling, but use the information to actually -- don't let political correctness stop them. Use the information we have to actually apply our defenses to those most likely to cause us harm. But here's the second concern. It feels too much, from this administration, like we're playing a defensive game in the war on terrorism. Yes, we need to harden our infrastructure, but if you have a committed terrorist who's willing to give up their lives, you look at that past pattern. We got lucky with the bomb in Times Square, we got lucky with the cargo packages, we got lucky with the underwear bomber that the devices didn't go off. Luck is not a strategy. We need to be rooting out these networks, we need to be killing these terrorists. I think that the American people are worried when they see an administration worried about reading Miranda rights to the underwear bomber. They worry when they see an administration committed to civilian trials. They wonder, "You're so worried about the rights of the terrorists, what about the rights of the innocent American traveler?" So, absolutely, I'm concerned that out of political correctness, they're screening people they don't really believe to be dangerous.
MR. GREGORY: So you think profiling is really a better option.
GOV. JINDAL: I don't think it's profiling. I think it's using the information we know. You look at things like, for example, you look at travel patterns, you look at how they purchase their ticket, you look at the information, the intel we've got. We all know -- and again, George Will and others make this point so articulately -- we all know that the grandmother who's being, being body searched doesn't really pose the threat. We know the little girl going to visit her grandmother -- here's the third thing that is also odd. The administration rolled this out right before the busiest travel time of the entire year, never making their case to the American public. If they really believed this was a response to a genuine threat, why didn't they make their case to the American public? The bottom line is, yes, we need to secure our country, but simply playing defense isn't enough.
MR. GREGORY: Well, let me...
GOV. JINDAL: Yes, we need to harden our infrastructure.
MR. GREGORY: Right.
GOV. JINDAL: But I think that it's hard to, to listen to an administration that's reading the Miranda rights, stopping the interrogation of the underwear bomber. And it's so hard to understand, why are they so worried about the terrorist's rights and now our rights?
MR. GREGORY: You know, you, you write about this in your book, and I want to put a portion of it out the way you talk about a therapeutic foreign policy. We'll get that portion of your book and put it on the screen. You write that "Our current therapeutic approach to national security is dangerous. I'm just not interested in empathizing with the 'grievances' of our sworn enemies. Let's figure out where they're vulnerable and destroy them." And hearing what you just said, I think a lot of people would hear that and say, "Is that a serious commentary?" I mean, you keep mentioning the Christmas Day bomber, who actually confessed to what he was doing; and the Miranda rights were not read until later, number one. How could you say that this administration, which has so many areas of continuity and is more robust in targeting terrorists in Pakistan, surging up forces in Afghanistan, a continuity with regard to treatment of, of terror suspects and detainees, how could this be a therapeutic approach to foreign policy and national security?
GOV. JINDAL: Well, three things. One, I think the Bush administration was also wrong, by the way, the way they treated Richard Reid, the, the shoe bomber. I, I don't just criticize this president, I criticize President Bush.
MR. GREGORY: So you think President Bush just got lucky?
GOV. JINDAL: No. I...
MR. GREGORY: When there was no strike after -- well, how does Obama just get lucky, but President Bush is better?
GOV. JINDAL: Wait a minute. Let me answer your question. First, I think he was wrong and the administration was wrong in the way they approached that bomber in the same way. I mean, go back to the Miranda rights for the, the underwear bomber. What evidence do they need? He -- I mean, they caught him with the device. What was the purpose? You asked a great question to
Secretary Clinton: Why are we doing these civilian trials if they're not going to release them? Why are we compromising sources? But here's the second point. You look at some of President Obama's writings. You look at how he talks about, "Well, we need to understand the, the disadvantaged backgrounds. This is a matter of social justice and more foreign aid." Nonsense. The analysts have looked at the terrorists that are coming at us. A -- the disproportionate share are educated, come from privileged backgrounds. The reality is, this isn't about people who don't have enough jobs, who don't have enough social aid. This is about fighting an enemy that hates our way of life. This is a fundamental clash of cultures. And I think that it's important to the war on terrorism that we understand what's at stake. This isn't, "Well, let's go and figure out a way to apologize for America." This isn't, "Have we offended them because we're supporting Israel?" I think our foreign policy needs to be based around the understanding this is an enemy that hates our -- and disagrees with our fundamental freedoms.
GOV. JINDAL: Absolutely. Now, look, let's start off, we cannot be lackadaisical about protecting our country against terrorists, make no mistake about that. But I've got two primary concerns with how they're doing this. First, George Will, Charles Krauthammer, others have made this point...
MR. GREGORY: Conservative columnists.
GOV. JINDAL: Other conservative columnists have made this point; they're not using common sense, they're not using intelligence. Look, there's no reason for them to be doing these body searches of six-year-old, 12-year-old girls traveling from Louisiana to visit their grandparents. We're not talking about profiling, but use the information to actually -- don't let political correctness stop them. Use the information we have to actually apply our defenses to those most likely to cause us harm. But here's the second concern. It feels too much, from this administration, like we're playing a defensive game in the war on terrorism. Yes, we need to harden our infrastructure, but if you have a committed terrorist who's willing to give up their lives, you look at that past pattern. We got lucky with the bomb in Times Square, we got lucky with the cargo packages, we got lucky with the underwear bomber that the devices didn't go off. Luck is not a strategy. We need to be rooting out these networks, we need to be killing these terrorists. I think that the American people are worried when they see an administration worried about reading Miranda rights to the underwear bomber. They worry when they see an administration committed to civilian trials. They wonder, "You're so worried about the rights of the terrorists, what about the rights of the innocent American traveler?" So, absolutely, I'm concerned that out of political correctness, they're screening people they don't really believe to be dangerous.
MR. GREGORY: So you think profiling is really a better option.
GOV. JINDAL: I don't think it's profiling. I think it's using the information we know. You look at things like, for example, you look at travel patterns, you look at how they purchase their ticket, you look at the information, the intel we've got. We all know -- and again, George Will and others make this point so articulately -- we all know that the grandmother who's being, being body searched doesn't really pose the threat. We know the little girl going to visit her grandmother -- here's the third thing that is also odd. The administration rolled this out right before the busiest travel time of the entire year, never making their case to the American public. If they really believed this was a response to a genuine threat, why didn't they make their case to the American public? The bottom line is, yes, we need to secure our country, but simply playing defense isn't enough.
MR. GREGORY: Well, let me...
GOV. JINDAL: Yes, we need to harden our infrastructure.
MR. GREGORY: Right.
GOV. JINDAL: But I think that it's hard to, to listen to an administration that's reading the Miranda rights, stopping the interrogation of the underwear bomber. And it's so hard to understand, why are they so worried about the terrorist's rights and now our rights?
MR. GREGORY: You know, you, you write about this in your book, and I want to put a portion of it out the way you talk about a therapeutic foreign policy. We'll get that portion of your book and put it on the screen. You write that "Our current therapeutic approach to national security is dangerous. I'm just not interested in empathizing with the 'grievances' of our sworn enemies. Let's figure out where they're vulnerable and destroy them." And hearing what you just said, I think a lot of people would hear that and say, "Is that a serious commentary?" I mean, you keep mentioning the Christmas Day bomber, who actually confessed to what he was doing; and the Miranda rights were not read until later, number one. How could you say that this administration, which has so many areas of continuity and is more robust in targeting terrorists in Pakistan, surging up forces in Afghanistan, a continuity with regard to treatment of, of terror suspects and detainees, how could this be a therapeutic approach to foreign policy and national security?
GOV. JINDAL: Well, three things. One, I think the Bush administration was also wrong, by the way, the way they treated Richard Reid, the, the shoe bomber. I, I don't just criticize this president, I criticize President Bush.
MR. GREGORY: So you think President Bush just got lucky?
GOV. JINDAL: No. I...
MR. GREGORY: When there was no strike after -- well, how does Obama just get lucky, but President Bush is better?
GOV. JINDAL: Wait a minute. Let me answer your question. First, I think he was wrong and the administration was wrong in the way they approached that bomber in the same way. I mean, go back to the Miranda rights for the, the underwear bomber. What evidence do they need? He -- I mean, they caught him with the device. What was the purpose? You asked a great question to
Secretary Clinton: Why are we doing these civilian trials if they're not going to release them? Why are we compromising sources? But here's the second point. You look at some of President Obama's writings. You look at how he talks about, "Well, we need to understand the, the disadvantaged backgrounds. This is a matter of social justice and more foreign aid." Nonsense. The analysts have looked at the terrorists that are coming at us. A -- the disproportionate share are educated, come from privileged backgrounds. The reality is, this isn't about people who don't have enough jobs, who don't have enough social aid. This is about fighting an enemy that hates our way of life. This is a fundamental clash of cultures. And I think that it's important to the war on terrorism that we understand what's at stake. This isn't, "Well, let's go and figure out a way to apologize for America." This isn't, "Have we offended them because we're supporting Israel?" I think our foreign policy needs to be based around the understanding this is an enemy that hates our -- and disagrees with our fundamental freedoms.
