Slate's Bizbox
politics: Who's winning, who's losing, and why.

Kucinich: Osama Should Not Be AssassinatedRep. Dennis Kucinich answers questions in our presidential mashup.


Updated Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007, at 11:51 PM ET

The following is an unedited transcript and may contain typos or omissions. Click here for more on the presidential mashup.

(Continued from page 2)

Kucinich: Well, Bill, it's nice to see you on Charlie Rose's show. And I know that you'll both help each other's ratings. I want to say that our Constitution has been trashed by this administration. Former President Gerald Ford understood there are dangers when you use assassination as a tool. Assassination is really what's called an extrajudicial killing. Look at the entire way this administration has changed our Constitution and what America's values are. Extrajudicial killings are now licensed. Abu Ghraib, tortures—licensed. Guantanamo—people are not permitted to have a right to a trial. Habeas corpus has been trashed. You're looking at the one person who really understands what this document, the Constitution of the United States, is all about. I want equal justice. I want Osama Bin Laden brought to justice. Now, if he resists in an attempt to arrest him, you know, whatever happens happens. But I think that we as a country need to reinstate this Constitution. This is the basis of our strength, and so I'm going to proceed to—for the whole world to understand the full power of the U.S. Constitution and what our system of justice is really about.

Thank you, Bill, for your question.

Rose: Let me follow up on my friend Bill Maher's question. If in fact Osama Bin Laden is taken out by some kind of airstrike, would you be pleased?

Kucinich: Again, I think that my position is that, you know, we've already tried that, Charlie. That we've had airstrikes all along the Pakistani border. We've killed a lot of innocent villagers in this search for Osama Bin Laden. Where does it end? Do you nuke a country in order to get one person? I'm saying that we have to follow international law. We cannot get into a kind of international vigilantism. We have to unite this country in the sense of upholding the law. We must join the international criminal court because our officials must equally be accountable to the law. President Gerald Ford understood that you start licensing assassination in any way, shape, or form, that it endangers our own country and our own leaders. So I'm saying that we have to be very concerned about the consequences of our action. That—stop the deaths of innocents, because that's what's been going on. The question about Osama Bin Laden, Al Sharpton said it a few years ago. Osama been gone. He's putting out more videos than a lot of people get on MTV. And so, despite that, we don't know where he is. The fact of the matter is, we've got to change our international policies, and that's what my doctrine of strength through peace represents. No more unilateralism first-strike pre-emption. That's the neo-cons that took us into the war based on lies. I was the one person of all these people running for president who not only spoke out against the war, but voted against the war, voted 100 percent of the time against funding the war. As a plan to end the war, I've met with leaders in Syria and Lebanon to talk about organizing the region to stabilize Iraq. We really have to take a new direction. And this goes way beyond Osama Bin Laden.

Rose: And I have to interrupt you only because of the time considerations. I hope to see you soon here at the table in New York. And thank you for doing this with us.

Kucinich: Charlie Rose, great to see you. Let's do it again.

Rose: Thank you very much. Congressman Dennis Kucinich. We'll be back in a moment.

VIEW AS SINGLE PAGE
Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
Topic A: Obama's Speech
| Pundits and diplomats respond.
Robinson: Sunshine in BerlinToles: Obama the UniterTelnaes: Meanwhile, McCain
PLUS » Stumped: Bring Back Bill Clinton