During the November 15 broadcast of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, former CIA operative and frequent Fox News guest Wayne Simmons said: “If the Democrats come into power in the United States and re-employ their vision of defense for this country, we will have 9-1-1s unabated.” Simmons said that his claim “will absolutely be proven to be fact.”
From the November 15 broadcast of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: Now for the top story tonight. The Senate defeated a bill today that would have required President Bush to set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. However, many Republican senators are urging the president to begin downsizing over there.
Joining us now from Washington, Wayne Simmons, former CIA operative, and Jed Babbin, former deputy undersecretary of defense under Bush, the elder.
Mr. Babbin, we'll begin with you. There is no question the Republicans are very worried about this Iraq situation. If it does not improve, there is a chance Democrats will win control of the Senate and even the House next November. So there is a move under way to get out of Iraq. Now how do you see that move?
BABBIN: Well, I think right now it's merely, as you say, just political posturing. These guys are trying to cover their tails so that they don't lose more ground next year.
The real issue, Bill, is how we phrase the question of what is it going to take to win this war? And I would posture that, as follows, basically saying that neither the president, nor the Republicans, nor the Democrats in the Senate, have even asked the right question.
This is an ideological war. Whether or not Iraq is free and successful by the end of next year, the war is not going to be over. We need to attack the enemy and its ideology before we start talking about that.
O'REILLY: Yeah, but how do you, how do you -- look, there's never gonna be an end to terrorist bombings in our lifetime, Mr. Babbin.
BABBIN: It's true --
O'REILLY: It's never gonna stop. You -- it's gonna be like Israel. They're gonna be bombing in Baghdad long after we're in the ground.
BABBIN: Well --
O'REILLY: And we can't stop it. So the American people are saying to themselves: Look, we're over there, blood and treasure being spent. We're not gonna be able to stop these people, so let's have some kind of bar for success. And we don't have that.
BABBIN: Well, but the bar for success, Bill, we may never eradicate terrorists everywhere, you're right, but we can do something to defeat the terrorist ideology so that they are not gonna be able to...
O'REILLY: All right, give me one specific in Iraq that you would do that's not being done.
BABBIN: But you're asking the wrong question, Bill. It's not just Iraq. The ideology is in Al Qaeda, it's in Iran, it's in a lot of different places.
O'REILLY: I assume we're fighting those people all over the world.
Mr. Simmons, why don't you weigh in on this thing? Look, theory is going to walk with the American people. We see that in the polls. We see it in the polls. It's not gonna be enough to go in and be theoretical about this. They're going to want to see improvement in Iraq or they're gonna want us to get out of there.
SIMMONS: Well, listen, the American people better wake up, Bill, because I can tell you unequivocally -- and this is not -- this is not an opinion. This will absolutely be proven to be fact.
If the Democrats come into power in the United States and re-employ their vision of defense for this country, we will have 9-1-1s unabated. That's not maybe. We know what took place in the past. And I still don't understand exactly what it is that the Americans expect President Bush to do any different than he's already done, Bill.