Transcript: Clinton on "This Week"

From ABC News:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: And we begin today with the
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Thanks for spending time with us this morning.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Oh, it's a pleasure to talk with
you from Singapore, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And as you're in Singapore, you and the President are
facing really his toughest decision yet on Afghanistan. And on his way
over when he stopped in Elmendorf Air Force Base, President Obama made
this commitment to the troops and the country. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATESTEPHANOPOULOS: We'll give you the strategy and the clear mission you deserve. We'll give you the equipment and support that you need to get the job done. And that includes public support back home. That is a promise that I make to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Now that is a tough promise to keep. History shows that the public won't support a war for very long if they're not convinced that the goal is worthy. But also, and probably more important, that the war can be won. How can you convince the country that this war can be won?

CLINTON: Well I think the President said it very well in talking to
some of the brave young men and women in uniform when he stopped at
Elmendorf.

What he's been doing in the last weeks is testing every single
assumption, asking for evidence, asking for dissenting opinions. I
mean, he has conducted an extraordinary effort to make sure that the decision
he makes is rooted in his best judgment as to what is in the national
security interest of the United States. And I believe that's a case
that can be made to the American people. I have no doubt about that.

Now, look, I understand that there will be people who are maybe critical
or unconvinced or not persuaded. But I think the majority of Americans
will know that this president has gone the extra mile, in fact, more
than that to make sure that whatever decision he makes is in the best
interest of our country, that it is aimed at making our country more
secure and supporting our men and women in uniform as they fulfill the
mission.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, one of those dissenting voices right now is
reported to be our ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry. He's also
the former commanding general of U.S. forces there. And he has sent
cables to Washington warning that President Karzai is not a worthy
partner and that sending more troops to Afghanistan now could actually
make it more difficult for the Afghan government, President Karzai, the
Afghan army to do what they need to defend their country on their own.

And I know you can't comment on any classified cables but what do you
think of this sentiment that President Karzai has not shown that he's a
credible partner yet and that sending more troops now will actually make
the Afghan army too dependent on U.S. forces?

CLINTON: Well, George, you're right. I can't and wouldn't comment on
the confidential advice that anyone has provided to the President during
his deliberations. But the argument that you've just described is one
that a number of people have made in the press and in arguments that
have certainly been made known to me, to the President and others.

We agree that our goal here is to defeat al-Qaeda. That has been a
clear goal and a mission from the President ever since he made his
commitment of additional troops back in the spring. And we understand
that the Afghans themselves need help in order to defend themselves
against the Taliban. Those are mutually reinforcing missions but our
highest obligation is to the American people. It is to do everything we
can to make sure that America is secure, that our allies, our interests
around the world are protected. And that is what we're focused on.

Now we believe that President Karzai and his government can do better.
We've delivered that message. Now that the election is finally over
we're looking to see tangible evidence that the government, led by the
president but going all the way down to the local level, will be more
responsive to the needs of the people, will deliver the services that the
people of Afghanistan want, who do not want to return to the Taliban,
but they want a government that actually can function on their behalf.
And that together we and our allies in the international community will
help them to build a security force that can take care of their security
going forward.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But President Karzai does seem to be ignoring some of
our concerns. He's surrounded by a Vice President Marshal Fahim whose
been accused of corruption. He's allied with General Dostum, a
warlord, whose been accused of massacres in the past.

What kind of concrete steps must President Karzai take to prove sending
more troops is not a waste of American lives and American money?

CLINTON: I have made it clear that we're not going
to be providing any civilian aid to Afghanistan unless we have a
certification that if it goes into the Afghan government in any form, that we're
going to have ministries that we can hold accountable. We are expecting
there to be a major crimes tribunal, an anti-corruption commission
established and functioning because there does have to be actions by the
government of Afghanistan against those who have taken advantage of the
money that has poured into Afghanistan in the last eight years so that
we can better track it and we can have actions taken that demonstrate
there's no impunity for those who are corrupt.

So we're going to be doing what we can to create an atmosphere in which
the blood and treasure that the United States has committed to
Afghanistan can be justified and can produce the kind of results that
we're looking for.

But we have no illusions. This is not the prior days when people would
come on your show and talk about how we were going to help the Afghans
build a modern democracy and build a more functioning state and do all
these wonderful things. That could happen but our primary focus is
on the security of the United States of America. How do we protect and
defend against future attacks. We do not want to see Afghanistan return
to being a safe haven and a staging platform for terrorism as it was
before. That is what is driving the President to make the best decision
he can make.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The word of the week in Washington seems to be
off-ramps. That's what the President is pushing for, off-ramps out of
Afghanistan. What is the off-ramp out of Afghanistan?

CLINTON: Well, I think you know we want to get al-Qaeda, George, and
we're very clear about that and we see it as part of our integrated
strategy looking at Afghanistan and Pakistan as a theater in which we
have to operate. We have made it clear to the Pakistanis, as well as to
the Afghans and others that we want to do everything we can to disrupt
dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda.

And when we talk about on-ramps, off-ramps, whatever the terminology of
the day might be, you know, that's a kind of shorthand. What we're trying to
figure out is, what is the best decision the President can make to
achieve our primary core objectives?

You know, we're not interested in staying in Afghanistan. We have no
long-term stake there. We want that to be made very clear.
We came to do a mission. Unfortunately it was not achieved in the last
eight years. In fact, the mission was changed because it could not be
achieved, or it no longer was the primary goal that was expressed in the
prior administration. Well, our goal is very clear. We want to get the
people who attacked us and we want to prevent them and their syndicate of
terrorism from posing a threat to us, our allies and our interests.

STEPHANOPOULOS: While you are there the Attorney General announced that
he was going to be prosecuting al-Qaeda members in U.S. criminal courts
in Manhattan, in New York City, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four of his
of his alleged accomplices. And that came under some fire, including
from the former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani who's our next guest.
Here's what the mayor had to say about that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GUILIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: This was an act of war
and an act of terror. They should be prosecuted, they should be prosecuted in a Military
tribunal. We would not have tried the people who attacked Pearl Harbor
in a civilian court in Hawaii for what they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Now it is true that during World War II we tried Nazis
who crossed our borders in Military courts, in Military tribunals.

Why is it so important to have these trials in Federal criminal courts?

CLINTON: Well, of course, George, this is a decision that the Attorney
General, the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense have
made after extensive, exhaustive review.

Look, I was a senator for eight years. I was a senator on 9/11. My
goal is to make sure that the mastermind and the other implementers and
designers of this horrific attack on us pay the ultimate penalty for
what they did to the United States and to a lot of people whom I know and
who I had the honor of representing.

The Attorney General determined after consulting with veteran
prosecutors that this was the case that appropriately can be brought in
our Federal courts. Other cases will be brought in the Military
commissions. I'm not going to second guess the Attorney General.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The State Department has the job of trying to find
homes for the 90 or so prisoners at Guantanamo who've been cleared for
release but there's no country that will take them.

How long will it take to find places for those 90 detainees? And will that delay, how
much further will that delay the closing of Guantanamo?

CLINTON: Well, actually, George, we've been making progress. I think
when we started there were way more than 100 -- I don't remember the
exact number. We have a dedicated group led by Ambassador Dan Fried,
who has literally traveled the world making arrangements for detainees
to be transferred to countries willing to accept them. And we are
making progress. There's a large group of detainees from Yemen
that posed some specific security issues that have to be addressed. But
we are making progress.

STEPHANOPOULOS: While you've been gone Sarah Palin is making quite a
splash back here in the United States. Her book "Going Rogue" is about
to be released but there are already excerpts out. And she has some
kind words for you in the book. She says she was wrong to criticize you
last year for whining and now she says that she realized the media was
biased when they were talking about your candidacy. And she goes on to say this, to write this.

"Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I
know that we will fundamentally disagree on many issues. But my hat is
off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail. A lot of her
supporters think she proved what Margaret Thatcher proclaimed. ‘If you
want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.'"

It sounds like she's fishing for a coffee date. Is it going to happen?

CLINTON: Well, you know, I've never met her. Look, I'd look forward to
sit down and talk with her. Obviously we're going to hear a lot more
from her in the upcoming weeks with her book coming out and I would look
forward to having a chance to actually get to meet her.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Was the media fair to her?

CLINTON: Well, you know George, I'll leave that for my book if I ever write
another one.

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. Well, I only have one final question.
As you know Mayor Giuliani is following you in just a minute. And he's
been talking to a lot of people in New York about running for governor
next year. And a lot of governors think you're doing exactly the same
thing.

Are they right?

CLINTON: What -- that I –

STEPHANOPOULOS: Talking to people about running for governor?

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: No, talking about running for governor yourself next year.

CLINTON: No, no, no. That's another one of those stories that never
will die and I hope maybe we can put it to rest today. No, I am
committed to the job that I have. It is an extraordinarily important
time to be the Secretary of State of my country and to work with
President Obama in trying to pursue our interests and advance our values
around the world and that's what I am going to continue doing.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So that rumor is dead. You're not running?

CLINTON: That rumor is dead. And if you can please, you know, put it
in a little box and send it off somewhere I'd appreciate it.

STEPHANOPOULOS: All right. It is done. Madame Secretary, thanks very
much for your time today.

CLINTON: Thanks, George. Good to talk to you.

END