Friday, September 12, 2008

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest an interview with Sarah Palin

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, emerging from media silence for her first serious interview as the GOP vice presidential pick, said today that the United States might have to go to war if Russia were to invade Georgia again.

And on the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, she appeared entirely unfamiliar with the Bush Doctrine, the central foreign policy tenet of the current administration, which asserts the right to wage preventative strikes in the wake of such terrorist attacks.

Palin made her statements during an interview with ABC "World News" anchor Charlie Gibson in which she was pressed on her foreign policy credentials and knowledge. Additional Gisbon interviews with Palin will be broadcast today on ABC.

Palin said she favors admitting Georgia and Ukraine to NATO. Asked if the United States would have to go to war if Russian again invaded Georgia when it was a NATO member, Palin said, "Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help."

"And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," she told Gibson. Russia invaded Georgia after the ex-Soviet republic invaded the separitist region of South Ossetia.

Palin said she had insights into U.S. relations with Russia because "they're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska ... from an island in Alaska."

During the interview, in Fairbanks, Alaska, Palin acknowledged that she had never met a leader of a foreign country and that she had visited only Canada and Mexico before a trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit U.S. troops last year.

"But, Charlie, again, we've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual, and somebody's big fat resume that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state."

But she insisted she was ready to be Sen. John McCain's vice president - and, if necessary, president of the United States.

"I answered (McCain) 'yes' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink," she said.

Throughout the interview, Palin appeared prepared, though she stuck to carefully constructed talking points. In one segment, asked to explain what the country should do if Israel struck Iranian nuclear facilities, she repeated three times that the United States cannot "second-guess" what Israel must do to defend itself.

But she seemed off balance when asked about the Bush Doctrine - which includes preventive war, spreading democracy to eliminate terrorism and brandishing power to force other countries into line.

Asked if she agreed with the Bush Doctorine, she asked, "In what respect, Charlie?"

Said Gibson: "What do you interpret it to be?"

Palin: "His world view."

Gibson: "No, the Bush Doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq War."

Palin answered that she believed the president "has attempted ... to rid this world of Islamic extremisms, terrorists who are hell-bent on destroying our nation."

After Gibson informed her of the doctrine's definition of "anticipatory self-defense" against any country that might attack the United States, she replied: "If there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend."

Asked if that meant a right to go to conduct across-border attacks without the approval of the Pakistani government, Palin said, "We have got to have all options out here on the table."

Palin - who has spoken in her church about U.S. troops being "on a task that is from God," was asked if she believed the United States is fighting a "holy war."

She deflected the question and said she was merely quoting Abraham Lincoln, adding, "I would never presume to know God's will."

The interview was broadcast in three parts over the next two days. ABC's "World News," "Good Morning, America," "Nightline" and "20/20" will all feature the interview.

The broadcasts will include biographical footage of Palin and coverage of her 19-year-old son, Track, who is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq this week.

Prior to today, the GOP governor was virtually inaccessible to reporters on critical issues like national security, terrorism and the economy.

In the week since she accepted the nomination at the Republican National Convention, Palin has stuck mostly to the script reprising her widely praised speech - and has not taken media questions when appearing at the side of her running mate.

The protective cocoon surrounding her has provided a sharp contrast to GOP presidential candidate McCain, who has had a generally warm relationship with media at his events, where he has welcomed their questions.

The McCain team - which had used women surrogates like former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina to fight back against what it described unfair news coverage of Palin, has created a "Truth Squad" to protect her from charges in the media. And it has surrounded her with seasoned Bush operatives and media handlers to prepare her for Gibson and the coming debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden.

Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church - the evangelical mega-church that recently hosted McCain and Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama - said this week that Palin had called him to ask advice related to that scrutiny, the Hill newspaper reported.

Warren, speaking to a Los Angeles radio station, said that "the question I asked her was, 'How can I pray for you?' " The pastor said Palin "asked me to send her some Bible verses on how do you deal with the unfair, unjust attacks and the mean-spirited criticism that comes in."

E-mail Carla Marinucci at cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com.

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