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TESTED.
>> I WANT TO BRING IN
CONGRESSMAN ED ROYCE, REPUBLICAN
FROM CALIFORNIA AND THE CHAIRMAN
OF THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE.
CONGRESSMAN, THANKS FOR JOINING
US.
LET ME START BY GETTING YOUR
REACTION TO THE NEWS THAT
PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOT BE
MEETING WITH IRAN'S PRESIDENT AT
THE U.N. OR ON THE SIDELINES OF
THE U.N. AS MANY HAD ANTICIPATED
COULD HAPPEN.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT
DEVELOPMENT?
>> WELL, I THINK WHAT WILL
HAPPEN INSTEAD IS THE SECRETARY
OF STATE WILL HAVE THOSE
MEETINGS AND OF COURSE, THAT'S
JUST THE ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY.
THINGS COULD CHANGE TOMORROW AS
ROUHANI CHECKS IN WITH THE
SUPREME LEADER, WITH THE
AYATOLLAH BUT AT THIS POINT,
CLEARLY THE AYATOLLAH HAS SAID
NO AND ULTIMATELY, REMEMBER, THE
AYATOLLAH IS THE ONE WHO CALLS
THE SHOTS ON THE NUCLEAR PROGRAM
AND ON DIPLOMACY.
>> PRESIDENT OBAMA IN HIS SPEECH
TODAY SAID THAT HE HAD ORDERED
KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY,
TO PURSUE A DIALOGUE WITH IRAN.
YOU HAVE BEEN RATHER HAWKISH ON
THIS ISSUE.
YOU HAVE LEGISLATION WITH
DEMOCRATIC COUNTERPART PUSHING
EVEN TIGHTER SANCTIONS AGAINST
IRAN, BUT SURELY YOU DON'T THINK
THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH KERRY
MEETING WITH HIS COUNTERPART TO
SEE IF THERE IS A DIPLOMATIC
PATH OUT OF THIS CRISIS.
>> WE NEED A PATH BUT WE NEED A
PATH IN WHICH IRAN AGREES TO
GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM,
GIVE UP ITS ENRICHMENT, GIVE UP
ITS WEAPONS-MAKING CAPABILITY,
AND IT'S IMPORTANT WE ALSO
REALIZE WHY WE'RE AT THIS POINT.
AND THAT IS THE EXISTING
SANCTIONS WE HAVE ON IRAN HAVE
FORCED ABOUT $600 BILLION OUT OF
THAT ECONOMY OVER THE LAST TWO
YEARS, CAPITAL FLIGHT IS
RAMPANT, THEY HAVE MASS
UNEMPLOYMENT, VERY HIGH
INFLATION, AND THE BILL THAT WE
PASSED BIPARTISAN, 400 VOTES IN
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
INTO THE SENATE, WOULD COMPOUND
THOSE SANCTIONS, INCREASE THOSE
SANCTIONS ON THE REGIME IN ORDER
TO TRY TO FORCE THEM TO GIVE UP
THOSE WEAPONS.
I THINK THAT'S WHY ROUHANI IS
NOW, YOU KNOW, MAKING THESE
OFFERS.
I THINK THEY REALIZE HOW MUCH
PRESSURE IS ON THEIR REGIME AND
WE'RE BASICALLY GIVING THEM A
CHASE TO CAPITULATE AND
COMPROMISE ON THEIR NUCLEAR
WEAPONS PROGRAM OR FACE AN
IMPLOSION OF THEIR ECONOMY.
>> CONGRESSMAN, WHAT DO YOU MAKE
OF ROUHANI'S PUBLIC RELATIONS
OFFENSIVE?
HE'S CERTAINLY TRYING TO SOUND
AND SEEM DIFFERENT FROM
AHMADINEJAD AND HIS PRE
PREDECESSORS.
>> VERY CLEVER FELLOW AND
CERTAINLY TOOK CREDIT DURING THE
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EUROPEANS.
HIS WORDS WERE DURING THAT
PROCESS, HE WAS ABLE TO STRETCH
OUT THE NEGOTIATIONS AND GET THE
CENTRIFUGES SPINNING, GET THEM
ONLINE.
SO TODAY, YOU'VE GOT FOUR TIMES
AS MANY AND THEY'RE SPINNING
FOUR TIMES AS FAST BECAUSE
THEY'RE MUCH MORE ADVANCED, AND
HE TAKES CREDIT FOR DOING THAT.
SO I THINK -- I THINK THAT'S
BEEN HIS PAST POLICY.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS MAKE IT
VERY CLEAR THAT WE'RE WISE TO
THAT.
WE KNOW HE'S PLAYING THE SAME
PLAYBOOK THAT NORTH KOREA USED
TO GET NUCLEAR WEAPONS, TO GET
OUT FROM UNDER THE SANCTIONS.
SO WE JUST NEED TO BASICALLY SAY
LOOK, WE'LL GIVE YOU 100 DAYS
FROM THE DAY YOU CAME INTO
OFFICE, GIVE UP YOUR WEAPONS
PROGRAM, STOP ENRICHMENT, TURN
THE ENRICHED URANIUM BACK AND
WE'LL LIFT THE SANCTIONS.
BUT WE HAVE TO SEE THAT ACTION.
WE CAN'T LET HIM PLAY US THE WAY
HE PLAYED THE EUROPEANS IN THE
NEGOTIATIONS AS HE BROUGHT THE
CENTRIFUGES ONLINE.
>> WHEN YOU REFER TO THE NORTH
KOREAN PLAYBOOK, YOU MEAN YOU
THINK HE'S GOING TO TALK A GOOD
GAME, CONVINCE THE WEST AND THE
U.S. TO GIVE UP THESE SANCTIONS,
TO DROP SOME OF THESE SANCTIONS,
THEN HE WILL GO FULL STEAM AHEAD
INTO A NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM?
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT IN 2005 PUT
SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA THAT
JUST BROUGHT EVERYTHING TO A
HALT, AND UNFORTUNATELY, IN
RETROSPECT, WE BELIEVED THE
OFFER FROM NORTH KOREA THAT THEY
WOULD COME BACK TO THE TABLE,
THEY WERE DESPERATE TO GET
NEGOTIATIONS STARTED AGAIN, BUT
ONCE THEY GOT THOSE SANCTIONS
LIFTED, THEY WERE ABLE TO GET
THE HARD CURRENCY TO FINISH
THEIR NUCLEAR PROGRAM AND THEN
FROM THERE, THEY HAD THE WEAPONS
THEY NEEDED.
I REALLY THINK THAT IT WAS A
BLUNDER FOR THE UNITED STATES
NOT TO INCREASE THOSE SANCTIONS
AND KEEP THEM ON IN NORTH KOREA,
AND I THINK HE SAW THAT, AND SAW
AN OPPORTUNITY.
I THINK ROUHANI SEES AN
OPPORTUNITY TO STRETCH THIS OUT
THE SAME WAY THE NORTH KOREANS
DID WITHOUT THE TYPE OF
DEBILITATING SANCTIONS THAT WE
CAN IMPOSE, AND THE BILL THAT WE
JUST PASSED OUT OF THE HOUSE
OVER A MONTH AGO THAT'S IN THE
SENATE TRULY WOULD BRING THAT
ECONOMY TO A HALT AND GIVEN
WHAT'S AT STAKE, GIVEN THE FACT
THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON THREE
STAGE ICBMs, AND PREPARING THIS,
YOU KNOW, ENRICHED URANIUM FOR A