Interview with Mohamed Morsy; Two Controversial Nominations
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, my exclusive interview with Egypt's controversial new president, making news with an announcement you'll hear first right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Also, President Obama picks someone to lead the CIA and the Pentagon. We're going to hear from a former Senate colleague who says Chuck Hagel is the wrong man to become the next Defense secretary. And chances are you've either had it or know someone who does. We have new information about the flu that's spreading across the United States and beyond. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. He's the highest profile leader to emerge from the Arab Spring revolutions and Mohamed Morsy's tenure as president of Egypt has been marked by controversy. I sat down with him yesterday at the presidential palace in Cairo for an exclusive one hour interview, during which Morsy revealed his plans to visit the United States soon.</s>BLITZER: When will you come to the United States? When will you meet with President Obama? What do you think of President Obama?</s>MOHAMED MORSY, PRESIDENT, EGYPT (through translator): God willing, I will plan for this trip. There is no set date yet, but it will most likely be before the end of the first quarter of this year. President Obama is an elected president by the American people and he grants the will of the American people by working for the interests of the American people. And this is the American people's right in their president. I respect him and I value him. He played an effective and important role in the cease-fire in regards to Gaza and the end of attacks against Gaza. He cooperated with us in a big way and I'm still in constant communication with him. When we meet, there will be a chance to talk about cooperation in different areas, like scientific research, manufacturing and production, investments and tourism.</s>BLITZER: So you plan on coming to the United States, god willing, inashallah, as we say, in the first quarter of this year, between now and the end of March?</s>MORSY: Before the end of the first quarter, god willing, I will visit, as you said I will visit, the United States of America. And I will be happy with this visit.</s>BLITZER: I also asked the Egyptian president about the blind Egyptian cleric who was convicted here in the United States in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Omar Abdul Rahman is serving a life sentence in a U.S. Prison.</s>BLITZER: Just clarify your position on what you want the U.S. Government to do as far as the -- the blink sheikh is concerned, who's being held in prison in the United States, convicted of his involvement in the blowing up of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing incident?</s>MORSY: I want him to be free, but I respect the law and the rule of law in Egypt and the United States. What I am talking about isn't a violation. I don't want a violation of the rule of law, but there are also many humane aspects. There could be things like visitation, assistance, his children, his family, assisting him. He is an old sheikh and sick and blind. We need to respect that in this sheikh. Is there a chance for him to be freed? I wish this, but considering my respect and appreciation for the American rule of law and the American government, our relationship, Egypt's relationship with America deserves that these issues be reviewed, if that is OK according to the law. If it isn't possible -- and I hope that it is possible -- if it wasn't possible, then these humane aspects need to be taken into account for him to be in a humane prison, to be able to have visitors, to be able to have company, to be able to visit with his sons and children, for his family to visit, for us to see him, for people to see him and know how he is doing, because he is a man, an old man, and he deserves full care. I wish that there could be a big possibility for the American administration to look into this matter about this sheikh, who is very old, without there being, I don't intend on violating the rule of law in anyplace. And I don't like anyone asking me to violate the rule of law in my own country. But the humane aspects, at the very least, need to be guaranteed.</s>BLITZER: Will you make this appeal directly to President Obama when you see him?</s>MORSY: When I meet with him, I will talk to him about this issue.</s>BLITZER: All right, let's get a little bit more on what's going on. Our CNN national security analyst, Peter Bergen, is joining us -- Peter, you've studied the case of the so-called blind Sheikh for a long time. What do you make of the -- this very bold public announcement that he's going to ask the president when he comes here before the end of March, before the end of March, to release him or at least do something to give him a better -- better treatment for his role in the effort to blow up the World Trade Center back in 1993?</s>PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Sheikh Rahman is in sort of an unusual situation, I mean, in two ways. First of all, as you know, Wolf, he's -- he's in ill health. So he's sort of in a medical prison facility. And, secondly, he's under something called special administrative measures, which basically people convicted of terrorism who are regarded as a threat are not allowed to communicate with anybody, really, outside their lawyers. And so he's not only just in prison, he's under some pretty tight controls. You know, these controls could be lifted, but I think there would be a lot of federal prosecutors who were involved in the cases in the Southern District of New York who would be very reluctant to let Sheikh Rahman certainly go back to Egypt. But he -- but even on a lesser level, to have more visitation, because he's used visits from his -- even from his lawyers, in the past, to get messages out to his followers, which have actually led, in some people's view, to more violence.</s>BLITZER: Because he would, presumably, the fear is he would inspire other terrorists out there to go out there and kill Americans.</s>BERGEN: Yes. And, in fact, one of his lawyers was convicted, a female American lawyer was convicted for passing messages to his -- essentially, to his group in Egypt. She spent -- she's probably still in prison. So this is a kind of sensitive issue, beyond him going back to Egypt, but just the idea that he might have the ability to communicate with people other than his immediate -- the people he has to communicate with on his legal team.</s>BLITZER: Tell us why this is important for President Morsy to raise this issue. Why is this a popular cause within his base, The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, in Egypt?</s>BERGEN: Well, Sheikh Rahman is regarded as a fairly important religious scholar. I mean he went to al-Azhar University, which is the sort of Harvard of Sunni theological thought. He's been the leader of a very violent group in Egypt, a theological leader. The Muslim Brotherhood is, you know, kind of, you know, at least on the ideological spectrum, on which Sheikh Rahman is the more extreme version. And they, you know, they clearly have a different view of him than, let's say, American federal prosecutors did in the case. It wasn't just the World Trade Center case, Wolf, it was also plots to blow up landmarks all around New York, the Holland Tunnel, the -- you know, and other places that didn't, luckily, happen.</s>BLITZER: We're going to be releasing a lot more of this interview throughout this week. He goes in-depth and he talks about what's going on in Egypt, dissent within in Egypt, what he plans on doing with those, like Mohamed ElBaradei or Amr Moussa and other Egyptian leaders who criticize him. More -- much more of this interview, obviously, going to be coming up, including under what circumstances he would be willing to sit down with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, or the Israeli president, Shimon Peres. That's coming up. But as far as meeting with the president of the United States, everything I'm hearing -- U.S. officials, so far, are relatively pleased with what President Morsy has done over these past six months, especially his role in that cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.</s>BERGEN: Yes. And I think it's also been U.S. government policy for some period of time to engage with The Muslim Brotherhood, because The Muslim Brotherhood is a major political force in the Middle East, not only in Egypt, but in many other countries. There was a period when, certainly under the Bush administration, when talking to The Muslim Brotherhood was something that was not U.S. government policy. Clearly, that has changed.</s>BLITZER: You know, he -- he's a graduate of the University of Southern California, a Trojan, if you will. He spent seven years living here in the United States. And when he comes back to the U.S. as president of Egypt, I think he wants to go back to USC and see some of the folks he studied with or whatever. That's going to be a fascinating visit once he comes.</s>BERGEN: Indeed.</s>BLITZER: I'm sure you're looking forward to it, as well.</s>BERGEN: Indeed.</s>BLITZER: And Egypt is the largest of all of the Arab countries, what, almost 90 million people there. And I think it's, arguably, the most important of all of the Arab countries, as well, not only in North Africa, but in the Middle East. So we go through a lot of stuff. Much more of the interview coming up. Peter, thanks very much. President Obama has announced his picks for two critical national security posts. He's tapped the former Republican senator, Chuck Hagel, to be the Defense secretary, and his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to lead the CIA. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is joining us now -- Barbara, how telling are these nominations?</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Wolf, both of these nominations are already mired in controversy. But the president is making clear he picked two men he knows, he likes, that he feels close to. This is his second term national security team. The president wants who the president wants.</s>STARR (voice-over): In announcing his nomination of Chuck Hagel as the next Secretary of Defense, President Obama made certain he sent this message about his second term foreign policy.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Chuck recognizes that American leadership is indispensable in a dangerous world. He understands that America stands strongest when we stand with allies and with friends.</s>STARR: The White House knows the Hagel confirmation hearing could become a free fire zone over whether the nominee is tough enough on Iran and supportive enough of Israel, criticisms Obama himself has faced. Hagel seemed to try to deflect that criticism in speaking of traditional diplomatic friends.</s>CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: I'm also grateful for an opportunity to help continue to strengthen our country and strengthen our country's alliances.</s>STARR: In Hagel, Obama gets an independent-minded Vietnam veteran and a one time Army sergeant who strongly believes war is a last resort, a view Obama shares.</s>OBAMA: And Chuck knows that war is not an abstraction.</s>STARR: But global threats could, at any point, compel him to recommend military force, in particular, if Iran's nuclear program continues.</s>SETH JONES, RAND CORPORATION: If it becomes clear that sanctions are not enough, then there's going to be a discussion that any secretary of Defense, including Hagel, as well as the national security team, has got to decide whether that means limited strikes against facilities.</s>STARR: But in choosing John Brennan, one of his closest national security advisers, to become the next CIA director, the president is showing he will not back down from the CIA's aggressive use of lethal force, both in partnering with the military, as it did on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and in relying on lethal drone attacks -- a drone policy that critics say amounts to targeted killing.</s>BERGEN: Whatever your views of the drone campaign, John Brennan is one of its principal architects, whether that's in Pakistan or whether that's in Yemen.</s>STARR: But back at the Pentagon, Chuck Hagel's most immediate challenge may be cutting the military budget, something he's on the record as favoring. You know, with the war in Afghanistan wrapping up in the next two years and a Congress very much looking for spending cuts, Hagel may be the man for that part of the job -- unless, of course, another national security crisis rears its head -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Let's hope it doesn't. Thanks very much for that. There's enough national security crises out there already. We're going to have much more on the Hagel nomination coming up -- why he could be in for a rocky confirmation process. Stand by for that. And Hillary Clinton heads back to work today, where her staff greets her with a surprising gift.