2006.11.10: November 10, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: Iraq: Hardball: Chris Shays discusses Iraq with Chris Matthews on Hardball

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Congo - Kinshasa (Zaire): Special Report: National Security Expert and Congo Kinshasa RPCV Michael O'Hanlon: 2006.11.09: November 9, 2006: Headlines: COS - Congo Kinshasa: Foreign Policy: Brookings Institute: Iraq: Washington Times: Michael O'Hanlon writes: While control of the Congress does not always have a huge bearing on foreign policy, it could matter greatly for our effort in Iraq : 2006.11.10: November 10, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: Iraq: Hardball: Chris Shays discusses Iraq with Chris Matthews on Hardball

By Admin1 (admin) (ppp-70-129-41-112.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 70.129.41.112) on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - 2:22 pm: Edit Post

Chris Shays discusses Iraq with Chris Matthews on Hardball

Chris Shays discusses Iraq with Chris Matthews on Hardball

"I want to find out the impact our election has had on the Iraqis. Because my 13th and 14th visit were very disappointing. I was there in July and then again in August. They‘re content to have us do the heavy lifting. They don‘t want to do the same kinds of things that they did in ‘05. In ‘05 staying the course made sense. They elected a government. They created a constitutional convention, created a constitution. They had to ratify the constitution. Then they had elections, pretty impressive. This year they‘ve basically been treading water. We need to motivate them. And if they‘re not motivated, we need to leave. " Journalist Chris Matthews and Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut both served as a Peace Corps Volunteers in the 1960's - Matthews in Swaziland and Shays in Fiji .

Chris Shays discusses Iraq with Chris Matthews on Hardball

'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Nov. 10

Updated: 9:57 a.m. CT Nov 13, 2006

Guests: Marsha Blackburn, Jim Moran, Jim Gilmore, Steve Jarding, Chris Shays, Roger Simon, Jim Vandehei, Chuck Todd, Adam Zagorin

[Excerpt]

MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.

Now to Connecticut, where U.S. Congressman Chris Shays won his 11th term in the House of Representatives, narrowly defeating outspoken antiwar candidate Diane Farrell. The race set a high national profile because Shays, a longtime supporter of the Iraq war, announced during his campaign that U.S. policies there aren‘t working and called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld‘s resignation.

Congressman Shays joins us now.

Congressman, thank you for joining us. Where do you think we have to go in Iraq?

REP. CHRIS SHAYS ®, CONNECTICUT: There‘s four things we need to do, Chris.

The first thing is we need set a timeline to transfer Iraqis to patrol the streets and get our guys from patrolling the streets. The Iraqis need to start doing the police work. And by doing that it incentivizes them, the Shias and the Kurds and the Sunnis, to start to work out their differences.

The second thing we need to do is set timelines for the Iraqis, the Shias and the Sunnis, in particular, to work out their differences on reconciliation, on de-Ba‘athification and where the oil goes and federalism.

The third thing you need to do is we need to get the six—and this is Dennis Ross‘ plan. I think he‘s right on target. We need to get the six neighboring countries to come together, Iran included obviously, and say, “You know, if we fail, Iraq gets divided into three parts. None of you want that.”

And finally, I think you need a plebiscite. If two-thirds of the Iraqis aren‘t going to support our being there and our plan to withdraw, then we leave even sooner. They need to start showing some support for our troops, or otherwise we just need to leave.

MATTHEWS: What about the—the administration? They have a strong ideological bend, very much inhabited by neoconservative thinking, very hostile to a lot of those Arab governments? Why do you think this president will change his mind and begin talking to Bashar Assad or to Ahmadinejad in Iran?

SHAYS: Well, he needs to do that and, frankly, we need to have embassies in every country, including North Korea and Cuba.

But the bottom line is, this president wants to have a success. He wants to bring our troops home eventually. And I don‘t think he does it without doing exactly what you described.

MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask you about the prospects on this. You know, the Democrats may wonder why they should sign onto a dying policy. How do you get them to join up in any kind of coalition when they see—they might see themselves getting blamed for what‘s to come?

SHAYS: Yes. I‘m so happy you asked me this. You know, we‘ve got to be Americans first, not Republicans and Democrats. And when you said sign on and make it their own, they‘ve got to make it their own.

I mean, we—we went into Iraq on a bipartisan basis. Jim Moran is wrong about that. Two-thirds of the House voted to go in, three-quarters of the Senate. And we‘re only going to be able to leave Iraq successfully, and I‘ll put quotations around “success”, if we do it on a bipartisan basis.

So if the Democrats love their country, they‘ll stop thinking about its impact on them politically and think about how they can help.

MATTHEWS: Do you still have faith in President Bush?

SHAYS: Yes, absolutely. And I think, you know, ironically, Jim Moran is totally wrong on this. I mean the president is not going to be marginalized. I mean, we—you thought that when we were in charge. And I remember him saying almost the same thing. And President Clinton proved he was not marginalized.

MATTHEWS: You‘re so right. You‘re so right.

SHAYS: Yes.

MATTHEWS: So you still think it‘s still going to be a bipartisan decision, it‘s going to have to be, to get successful in developing a strong policy?

SHAYS: We have men and women dying in Iraq, and the only way we help our troops is to work together.

MATTHEWS: You‘ve been over there so many times, 14 times I‘m told. What do you expect to find when you go back again in Iraq? What do you want to find out about?

SHAYS: I—I want to find out the impact our election has had on the Iraqis. Because my 13th and 14th visit were very disappointing. I was there in July and then again in August.

They‘re content to have us do the heavy lifting. They don‘t want to do the same kinds of things that they did in ‘05. In ‘05 staying the course made sense. They elected a government. They created a constitutional convention, created a constitution. They had to ratify the constitution. Then they had elections, pretty impressive.

This year they‘ve basically been treading water. We need to motivate them. And if they‘re not motivated, we need to leave.

MATTHEWS: OK. Congressman Chris Shays, congratulations. What a tough year you‘ve had.

SHAYS: Thanks.

MATTHEWS: And you have proved the Democratic process works; you got

re-elected. Thank you, sir.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2006; RPCV Chris Shays (Fiji); COS - Fiji; Politics; Congress; Iraq; Connecticut





When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:


Contact PCOLBulletin BoardRegisterSearch PCOLWhat's New?

Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Election 2006: Results of RPCV Races Date: November 8 2006 No: 1024 Election 2006: Results of RPCV Races
Chris Shays claims victory in closely watched race
Jim Walsh wins re-election to Congress in close race
Tom Petri unopposed for re-election to Congress
Sam Farr wins re-election to Congress
Mike Honda wins re-election to Congress
Jim Doyle wins re-election to Wisconsin Governorship
Kinky Friedman loses in long shot bid for Texas Governor
John Garamendi elected Lt. Governor of California

Top Stories and Breaking News PCOL Magazine Peace Corps Library RPCV Directory Sign Up

Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Date: October 26 2006 No: 1011 Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series
Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here.

October 22, 2006: This Month's Top Stories Date: October 22 2006 No: 1005 October 22, 2006: This Month's Top Stories
The crisis over North Korea's nuclear bomb test 14 Oct
Hill faced strong opposition for denuclearization agreement 8 Oct
John Coyne writes: The first Peace Corps book 20 Oct
Thomas Tighe moderates discussion with President Clinton 17 Oct
PC announces Community College degree program 18 Oct
Donna Shalala expresses dismay over football brawl 16 Oct
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley defends Lebanon policy 16 Oct
Jan Guifarro elected Chair of NPCA Board 15 Oct
Carl Pope writes: From the pump to the polls 13 Oct
Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez Says Africa a Priority 12 Oct
Chris Dodd opposes Bush terrorism bill 10 Oct
Isaac Edvalson is founder of Africa's Tomorrow 9 Oct
The Man who turned down Shriver 8 Oct
Mae Jemison tells girls to reach for the stars 6 Oct
Loren Finnell receives Shriver Award 4 Oct
Matt Sesow paints onstage during opera 2 Oct
Film examines anti-malaria drug lariam 29 Sep
Blackwill dismisses Musharraf's claims 27 Sep
Ron Tschetter sworn in as 17th Peace Corps Director 26 Sep
Rape Victim Student Gets $1 Million From City College 26 Sep
Ricardo Chavira narrates Public Service Announcements 25 Sep

The Peace Corps Library Date: July 11 2006 No: 923 The Peace Corps Library
The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Date: September 23 2006 No: 996 Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps
Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honor Date: September 12 2006 No: 983 He served with honor
One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Meet Ron Tschetter - Our Next Director Date: September 6 2006 No: 978 Meet Ron Tschetter - Our Next Director
Read our story about Ron Tschetter's confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was carried on C-Span. It was very different from the Vasquez hearings in 2001, very cut and dried with low attendance by the public. Among the highlights, Tschetter intends to make recruitment of baby boomers a priority, there are 20 countries under consideration for future programs, Senator Dodd intends to re-introduce his third goal Peace Corps legislation this session, Tschetter is a great admirer of Senator Coleman's quest for accountability, Dodd thinks management at PC may not put volunteers first, Dodd wants Tschetter to look into problems in medical selection, and Tschetter is not a blogger and knows little about the internet or guidelines for volunteer blogs. Read our recap of the hearings as well as Senator Coleman's statement and Tschetter's statement.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance Date: August 19 2006 No: 964 Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance
The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again Date: July 31 2006 No: 947 The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again
The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100% Date: April 3 2006 No: 853 PCOL readership increases 100%
Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace Corps Date: March 18 2006 No: 834 History of the Peace Corps
PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.


Read the stories and leave your comments.






Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Hardball

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Fiji; Politics; Congress; Iraq

PCOL35155
76


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: