Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Former NY City Mayor Ed Koch praises Eagleberger and admonishes NY Times:
"On Sunday, April 4, while watching the Fox News Channel, I saw former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger interviewed on the rising insurrection in Iraq. The interview followed a whole day of televised gloom, doom, pessimism and Bush-bashing by the talking heads of medialand...
"The next day, I expected Eagleburger's views to be covered by the media. There was not one reference to his comments..."
(Koch reproduces this excerpt:)
REPORTER: It's a bad day for the U.S. military ...
EAGLEBURGER: Very bad day, it's a mess, but I must tell you I think we're going to see more of this as we get closer to that June turnover date ... not less of it. Unless we get very tough, I think it's going to be a real difficult time when that June date comes around.
REPORTER: No, I agree, so what do you mean by getting tough? What do you think we need to do?
EAGLEBURGER: Well, I will now make myself terribly unpopular, but there's going to have to be some killing. I don't know any other way to put this. You cannot go into a place like we just saw there in Baghdad and just let this continue. Now I know there are women and children and so forth, but the fact of the matter is these people are out in the streets, there's only one way to deal with them and that is you have to get them off of the streets and if you have to shoot at them to do that, we're going to have to do some of that.
REPORTER: You're talking about heavy firepower ... you're talking about strategic strikes ... or more of an overall?
EAGLEBURGER: Well, what I'm really talking about is\ you've got to get enough troops in there, and I'm not the military genius here, but it does seem to me that with sufficient force, these people could be put down. And every time they raise their heads it's got to happen again. I'm sorry but I do not believe that we can go on like this, threatening that we're going to retaliate and not retaliate, and when we retaliate, it had better be forceful.
REPORTER: When you say "better be forceful," are you talking airpower, are you talking ground, a combination? ...
EAGLEBURGER: Well, clear and cohesive message [that] it won't be tolerated, and if that means level it ・I don't think you're going to have to level it, but if what I'm saying here is going to upset people I might as well say it: Unless we are prepared to take whatever actions are necessary militarily to put these people down so we can go on with a steady transition to an Iraqi government, the transition will not take place, because there won't be anything to transit to. ... [End of excerpt]
