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The front in Pakistan
RAY SUAREZ: We take up the debate on where to fight terrorism with Rand Beers, who served in counterterrorism posts on the National Security Council staff and at the State Department under the last four presidents, including George W. Bush. He's now president of the National Security Network, a non-profit foreign policy advocacy group.
Rand Beers, the president has said in the last couple of days, the safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle of Baghdad. Another way of formulating that "fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" idea. Is he right?
RAND BEERS, President, National Security Network: I don't think, certainly, is the way that he meant to say that he's right. I think that we really have the central front or the headquarters of al-Qaida in Pakistan and along the Pak-Afghan border.
What they are doing in Iraq today is basically drawing us into a struggle where they can kill us, and demonize us, and where they can have other people do most of their dirty work. We're not going to defeat them there, and we should recognize that, and concentrate, if we're concentrating on terrorism, on other areas of the world.
RAY SUAREZ: We take up the debate on where to fight terrorism with Rand Beers, who served in counterterrorism posts on the National Security Council staff and at the State Department under the last four presidents, including George W. Bush. He's now president of the National Security Network, a non-profit foreign policy advocacy group.
Rand Beers, the president has said in the last couple of days, the safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle of Baghdad. Another way of formulating that "fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" idea. Is he right?
RAND BEERS, President, National Security Network: I don't think, certainly, is the way that he meant to say that he's right. I think that we really have the central front or the headquarters of al-Qaida in Pakistan and along the Pak-Afghan border.
What they are doing in Iraq today is basically drawing us into a struggle where they can kill us, and demonize us, and where they can have other people do most of their dirty work. We're not going to defeat them there, and we should recognize that, and concentrate, if we're concentrating on terrorism, on other areas of the world.
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