Meet The Press – June 16, 2013

Guests:

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC)

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO)

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) 
Gen. Michael Hayden (fmr. Director NSA)
David Ignatius

Andrea Mitchell

James Risen

Gregory: Obama wants to arm the rebels

Graham: that's not enough –

we need to create a no-fly zone

Gregory: you think the rebels

can't win with just guns

Graham: also i'm worried about

Lebanon – the whole region

is a powder keg

Gregory: so would you invade Syria?

Graham: Israel could end up

surrounded by enemies

Gregory: oh noe!

Graham: the whole area is about to

explode – I don't understand Obama's

foreign policy – American should

control all countries everywhere

Ignatius: Assad's generals are fleeing

Gregory: can we track guns in Syria

– we can't even track them here!

Mitchell: we may get into a

proxy war with Iran

Gregory: great

Mitchell: also because Bush lied

about weapons of mass destruction

so no one believes us anymore

Gregory: Sen. McCain says we can

get involved in a middle east war

risk-free – isn't that crazy considering

you guys freaked over Benghazi?

Graham: no not at all – we must kill

Bashir Assad or the King of Jordan is toast

Mitchell: how do we know we won't

help terrorists get chemical weapons?

Graham: there are no good answers –

but we have a big military so we

might as well use it

Ignatius: what's the best argument

for attacking Syria?

Graham: all the regular Syrians

I know love America

Gregory: is Ed Snowden a traitor?

Graham: I don't know but I've

got a simple view of the world

Gregory: that's why I love you

Graham: I would like to

listen in on terrorists

Gregory: is an immigration bill

going to pass?

Graham: yes – I haven't been

this optimistic since Ashley Wilkes proposed

Gregory: could you expand on that?

Graham: we should invade Syria!

Gregory: who is going to be

elected President in 2016?

Graham: Jeb Bush

Gregory: another Bush?

Graham: this time it will work

Gregory: what makes you so sure?

Graham: Obama caused the recession

and started wars in the middle east

Gregory: is that good or bad?

Graham: good question Fluffy

[ break ]

Gregory: a moderate was

elected President of Iran

Ignatius: it's fascinating –

he's soft on beheadings

Gregory: what should we do in Syria?

Chambliss: we should remove

Assad because he is not good

Gregory: but we might send

arms to crazy people

Chambliss: we're pretty good at

ferreting out the good guys

Gregory: indeed our track

record is spotless

Chambliss: a no-fly zone may

be the ultimate tactic

Gregory: the U.S. says we will

put the guns the right hands

Udall: all we have to do is protect

the Syrian people, contain all weapons

and install a good regime

Gregory: oh is that all

Udall: oh and seize the oil

Gregory: Syria doesn't have any oil

Udall: what fuck it it then

Gregory: is Ed Snowden a traitor?

Chambliss: if he's not a traitor

he's pretty darn close

Gregory: right

Chambliss: the bad guys now

know not to use telephones

which puts American lives at risk

Gregory: what's next for Ed Snowden?

Chambliss: Dancing with the Stars

Gregory: what about NSA surveillance?

Udall: I love PRISM but I think collecting 

the metadata of millions of Americans 

might violate the Fourth Amendment

Gregory: ok

Udall: but my bill would make

it okay to collect metadata

for Americans with a link to terrorism

Gregory: after 9/11 everyone

bashed the NSA for not collecting

enough information

Chambliss: we've stopped lots of

terrorist attacks with these programs!

Gregory: name some

Chambliss: the NYC subway bombing

plot and the Mumbai bombings

Gregory: the Mumbai attacks were not prevented

Chambliss: nobody's perfect Fluffy

Gregory: don't people want

surveillance to prevent attacks?

Udall: why can't the NSA get

a warrant for metadata?

Gregory: maybe they secretly do

Udall: the King of England could

kill people in 1776

Gregory: well I'm sure both sides

were equally guilty

[ break ]

Gregory: will people turn on spying

when more revelations come out?

Hayden: no when people learn more

about how great these programs

they will love them

Gregory: what don't people

understand about how they work?

Hayden: PRISM is content but

only applies to foreigners and

metadata is for Americans but

has no content

Gregory: Obama expanded these programs

Scott: that's a lie

Gregory: I know it is but

I'm required to say it

Scott: the issue is what information

is gathered and what can be accessed

and how can it be used –

like with DNA on arrest

Risen: we created a modern

surveillance structure with no debate

Ignatius: Bush broke the law

with warrantless wiretapping

Gregory: be quiet

Ignatius: these idiot congressmen

whine that they can't bring their

staffs or take notes –

suck it up and do your jobs

Gregory: Snowden – good or bad?

Ignatius: this kid just released this

stuff will nilly - we're still a nation of laws

Mitchell: Snowden is undeniably

brilliant but his internet chats

showed he was very edgy but

still he got top secret clearance

Gregory: I heard he had hipster

glasses and listened to

Mumford and Sons

Mitchell: oh my god

Hayden: Snowden is flat-out lying –

there's no way he could access all

the information he claimed

Mitchell: how would you know –

you're totally clueless

Hayden: you can only access metadata

through a terrorist predicate

Scott: whatever the hell that means

Risen: we only debate these issues

when a so-called traitor tells us

what the government is up to

Gregory: Congress doesn't have the

guts to talk about limiting surveillance

Ignatius: at least Obama tried to

make it legal – although clearly

General Hayden doesn't want

to have this debate

Hayden: I'm scared al-qaeda

will learn that we have civil

rights and exploit that

Mitchell: sweet jesus General

it's like you crave a dictatorship

Hayden: but a safe one

Mitchell: since Benghazi and

the IRS and Monica Lewinsky

I don't trust the NSA

Risen: we have a massive

surveillance state which probably

lead to a police state

Gregory: which leakers do we like

and which don't we like?

Scott: can all this information be

used for ordinary heinous crimes

or trade deals?

Gregory: that's a good question

and I hate it – let's talk about the

rise of the Celebrity Leaker

Risen: the whistleblowing system

is totally broken – the best

method is to go the media now

Mitchell: he could have gone to

his local member of Congress

Risen: Peter King would have him killed

Ignatius: that's a fixable problem

and therefore uninteresting

Risen: I know it's fixable –

that's why I brought it up

Hayden: I hate transparency but

if you all fucking insist on it so be it

Gregory: it's Father's Day -

what did your Dad teach you?

Mitchell: my Dad is 99 years

old and he taught me to fight

Ignatius: my dad was Navy Secretary

under LBJ and taught to never get

involved in a land war in Asia

without a pretty good reason

Risen: my dad always want to

host a Sunday talk show

Hayden: what my dad taught

me is classified

Scott: don't collect information

and tell me you're not going

to use for kidnappings

Gregory: ok

Scott: my Dad fought segregation

and he taught me to challenge

injustice with great dignity

Gregory: and that's another

episode of Meet The Press