© 2007, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS CBS TELEVISION PROGRAM TO "CBS NEWS' FACE THE NATION." CBS News FACE THE NATION Sunday, November 25, 2007 GUESTS: Robin Wright The Washington Post Author, “The Great Revolution” General Anthony Zinni Former Commander, United States Central Command Author, “Battle for Peace” Lawrence Wright Author, “The Looming Tower” Rick Atkinson Author, “The Day of Battle” MODERATOR/PANELIST: Bob Schieffer This is a rush transcript provided for the information and convenience of the press. Accuracy is not guaranteed. In case of doubt, please check with FACE THE NATION - CBS NEWS (202)-457-4481 Face the Nation (CBS News) - Sunday, November 25, 2007 1 BOB SCHIEFFER, host: Today on FACE THE NATION, our annual Thanksgiving weekend books and authors broadcast. If the surge in Iraq is working, where's the political reconciliation? What's the situation in Afghanistan, and with Iran's nuclear program? Will anything come of the conference on the Middle East the administration is arranging this week in Annapolis? We'll analyze all these issues as we talk to a distinguished panel of authors: Robin Wright of The Washington Post who's written four books on foreign policy; General Anthony Zinni who once ran our military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and is the author of "Battle for Peace"; Lawrence Wright, who won the Pulitzer for his book on terrorism "The Looming Tower"; and Rick Atkinson, author of "Day of Battle." I'll have a final word on political excuses and tortured explanations. But first, America at war and the chances for peace on FACE THE NATION. Announcer: FACE THE NATION with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. And now, from CBS News in Washington, Bob Schieffer. SCHIEFFER: And good morning again. We're all in the studio this morning--Robin Wright, Rick Atkinson, General Anthony Zinni and Lawrence Wright. Robin, I want to go to you first and talk about this conference that the United States is putting together in Annapolis. We have all these parties from around the Arab world, from Israel, all coming together, looking for some sort of way to start a process that will establish two states-- Israel and a home for the Palestinians. What's it about and is there any chance that this could possibly work? Ms. ROBIN WRIGHT (Author, "The Last Great Revolution"): Well, this is an enormous gamble for everyone who is participating. There are more than 50--well, almost 50 countries or groups coming to Annapolis to try to sort out or begin a process that will unfold over the last year of the Bush administration. But I've never remembered a time when all the parties were as weak as they are now. Prime Minister Olmert of Israel is still recovering from the war in 2006 with Hezbollah, his popularity is very low. He faces opposition for some of his ideas even within his own coalition. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinians, faces an unparalleled situation that you have Gaza and the West Bank separated, two different parties in control. And the one party that has probably brought all of them together is not coming to Annapolis, and that's Iran. It's a common fear of extremism, Iran's growing influence in the region, that is getting them all to Annapolis. I think there are those who think that it may start off well, but the danger is, in the Middle East always, that events on the ground always overtake diplomacy. And there's the danger of that whether it's an extremist attack that makes it even harder for both sides to compromise or the fact that politics in the region tend to atrophy, lose the momentum. President Bush will have to get involved in a very high profile way in order to make this work, and there's no sign yet that he's going to do anything more than give the opening speech and hold a dinner in honor of the participants. BURRELLE 'S INFORMATION SERVICES / (202)419-1859 / (800)456-2877 Face the Nation (CBS News) - Sunday, November 25, 2007 2 SCHIEFFER: Well, I mean, the United States is counting it as progress that the Saudis have deigned to actually to send their foreign minister. This is considered a good sign. I mean, if that's a good sign, doesn't it sort of underline how steep this hill is that we have to climb here? Ms. WRIGHT: Absolutely. And the Syrians have indicated today that they will send a vice foreign minister, so that you have all the major parties involved. The question is, can you come to common ground? That's always--on these last critical issues--Jerusalem, borders, refugees, security. How do you figure out a way to overcome hurdles that have been there for 60 years since Israel was created, 40 years since the occupation began? That's a huge hurdle when even the Bush administration is facing its own obstacles. It's not in the--the president himself is not in a strong position. So the challenges are enormous. SCHIEFFER: General Zinni, you, of course, were once the central command CIC. You directed what was going on in that part of the world, Iraq, Afghanistan, the whole war on terror. What really is at stake here? I mean, there are conferences and there are conferences. Is that--what if this one doesn't work? General ANTHONY ZINNI (Former Commander, United States Central Command): I think it would be devastating to the region. There's so many hopes pinned on this one. As Robin said, everybody's weak. So they are coming to the table really seeking to have some resolution. I think the danger here is not in that you might not get an agreement. You can paper the walls with the agreements we've had so far. It's implementation. I would worry about a couple of things. One, that the preparation for this maybe wasn't done. We could get an agreement, but the implementation is going to be extremely difficult and has to be orchestrated, that there's a timeline on this, the end of the administration. If you began a process that showed progress and it went beyond the end of the administration, that should be considered success. I would not want to see these things cause failure. I think, as Robin said, there will be elements out there that will try to undermine this, and we can't fall back and give in to those in this process, or the sense of despair will devastate the region once again. SCHIEFFER: Well, when you say there's a danger here, are you talking about putting the region in danger? Would a failure to come to some kind of agreement here make the--make the area more dangerous and that could make our security less secure? Gen. ZINNI: Absolutely. I think there're elements out there that will take advantage of this. Recruiting for extremists could go up if this sense of despair took hold and yet another failed attempt at this. I think you have to plow through this. There will be ups and downs in this process. Again, implementation will be difficult. We can't do an on and off again process. We have to stick with it. If we're going to start it this time, we have the advantage of all these participants now committed to it all week, which I happen to think is an advantage in a certain respects, and that everybody would be willing to compromise and work at the table. We have to see this through, and it probably means seeing it through into the next administration. And I think this administration ought to be satisfied that that would be a success if they have a process that continues on and is progressing into the next administration. BURRELLE 'S INFORMATION SERVICES / (202)419-1859 / (800)456-2877 Face the Nation (CBS News) - Sunday, November 25, 2007 3 SCHIEFFER: Lawrence Wright, you literally wrote the book on al-Qaeda. I think even the CIA sometimes acknowledges that you may know more about Osama bin Laden than even they do. How do you see this as fitting into this whole war on terrorism? Mr. LAWRENCE WRIGHT (Author, "The Looming Tower"): Bin Laden doesn't really care about Israel, but the Israeli-Palestinian dispute fuels the despair and anger of so much of the Muslim world that if it were resolved he'd be in tears. It really is a very potent recruiting tool for him and for other radical Islamist groups. So, from that point of view, this is really on the table in Annapolis, as well as, I think, the whole future of the idea of a two-state solution. You know, the--right now, Palestine itself is divided into two states, and, if this procedure fails, then we may not be talking about a two-state solution again in the future because the West Bank itself would become even more radicalized. Abbas' government would be unsupported, and then what? Well, it'd be very difficult to tell. SCHIEFFER: Rick Atkinson, you have spent a lot of your career in recent years on the war in Iraq. I know that just this week you talked to General Petraeus, our commander there. How--what is the connection to this conference and what's going on in Iraq right now? Mr. RICK ATKINSON (Author, "The Day of Battle"): Well, they're all intertwined, obviously, as our other guests have said.