Transcript: House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Turner on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Dec. 8, 2024
The following is a transcript of an interview with Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on December 8, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Joining us now is Congressman Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee of Ohio. In such a short period of time, things have taken an astonishing turn. The United States has no diplomatic presence in Syria. Our visibility is a little limited here. What changes do you think Americans need to know about this state of affairs?
represent. Mike Turner: Margaret, this is an excellent report because you really laid the groundwork for what turned out to be an extremely brutal civil war that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, including the use of chemical weapons. Of course, it’s a reminder that the Obama administration said this would be a red line, that we would use military force to stop the use of chemical weapons, but ultimately failed to do so. This is the rise and persistence of an Islamist militia that is now successfully overthrowing the Assad regime. As your report points out, its origins are al Qaeda, but it is opposed to ISIS. It is backed by Türkiye. This is a blow to Iran and a blow to Russia. We see the potential for Syria to break apart. The big question is, what does this mean for America? What does this mean for our neighbors, Iran, Russia, Israel and Jordan, powerful allies of the United States?
MARGARET BRENNAN: You mentioned that we showed photos of Abu Mohammad Golani. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS. In the coming days and weeks, you’ll hear a lot about insurgent groups that appear to be seizing control. But they are also working with the Prime Minister. The U.S. government has put a $10 million bounty on Jolani’s head. Do you think the United States should still keep it? Should Americans be worried about the impact this will have on the terrorist threat in the United States?
represent. TURNER: This is a terrorist organization and group, but it’s not just a transfer of power and authority. may be. Obviously, we have to pay attention to this. But, you know, one thing we do see here is that this is a diplomatic failure with the United States and Turkey. You know, the United States has troops stationed in Syria. This is located on the Turkish border. Türkiye is a NATO ally. The United States is working with the Kurds. This could indeed be an opportunity for the United States to work toward resolving issues between the Kurds, Turkey, and the United States and to work with Turkish interests in Syria. The hope is that this might be an opportunity where diplomatic support can be gained and hopefully help with the transition in Syria.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There are 900 U.S. troops in southern Syria. In 2019, Donald Trump pulled U.S. troops out of northern Syria, abandoning our allies there. Do you believe he will support the 900 American troops who remain behind? Or should he consider pulling them out once he takes office?
represent. TURNER: Well, I think one of the things that Donald Trump will make clear is that any threat to our military is going to be met with an incredible response. So everyone should understand that the U.S. military must be safe. The second thing is that he does absolutely support the Kurds and he will seek a diplomatic solution. I think there will be an evaluation of whether these troops should stay. But I think there are opportunities for all parties, especially now that the dominance of Iran and Russia will be diminished. Their support for Assad has been brutal, and hundreds of thousands of people there have been killed, including through the use of chemical weapons, and have been under Russian influence. Russia still has two bases, a naval base and an air base, and both of those are, you know, a risk to Russia, but also a risk to the Syrian people because they could – they’ve been used to attack before Syrian population. We have to see what Russia does there. But this will be a highly volatile and transitional space.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Wonder where Bashar Assad might have fled to?
represent. TURNER: No, not now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you, since we’re talking about the incoming administration, Donald Trump’s choice of former congresswoman, former Democrat, now Republican, Tulsi Gabbard Serves as Director of National Intelligence, overseeing 18 intelligence agencies. Not only did she go and meet with Assad, but she also publicly questioned the high-credibility assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that he did what we showed you in the photos of him doing, using chemical weapons there. Do you believe that she can actually represent the intelligence community, lead the intelligence community and be trusted to brief the commander in chief?
represent. TURNER: Well, obviously I differ greatly from her judgment and background and experience in many ways, but what I do believe is that –
MARGARET BRENNAN: –and you’re smiling when you say this–
represent. TURNER: The Senate is a Senate process, and I think the senators are going to put her through a process. She has been nominated. She’s going to go through this process and I think there’s going to be significant debate and evaluation. I think –
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Do you think she won’t be confirmed? ——
represent. TURNER: Donald Trump put together a great national security team in his last term, and I think he’s going to put together a great national security team in this term as well. I think CIA Director Radcliffe and National Security Director Mike Walz are both great examples of people who are going to be foundational. I think you’re going to see a great national security team.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, this is a community that you also have oversight of, so you probably won’t vote in the Senate, but it sounds like she doesn’t have your trust. How about Pete Hegseth, who ran the Pentagon during a time of global instability?
represent. TURNER: Yeah, I thought the Senate Armed Services Chairman gave a great speech. He said, ‘Of course we support the process, he supports the whole process, and we’ll have to see how things go. One thing that is absolutely clear is that the Pentagon needs reform. We have not kept pace with Russia and China in advanced weapons systems. At the same time, we’re seeing advanced technology weapons systems being used on the battlefield in Ukraine, our acquisition systems, our accounting systems, our spending systems are not working in the Pentagon —
MARGARET BRENNAN: -It takes experience-
Rep. Turner: –We need reform. We need reform. Someone has to be able to lead this, and that will be a debate in the Senate.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I love asking members of Congress and they just keep reminding me that they don’t sit in the Senate and don’t want to comment. I sense some uncertainty in you, but I don’t want to put words in your mouth. I want to ask what’s going on in Congress right now, when there’s a lot of work that’s going to be scrambling to get done at the end of the year. Your Democratic colleague in the Senate, Mark Warner, said “addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the final weeks is a top priority.” Are there certain actions you will prioritize because of China’s massive disruption of U.S. telecommunications?
represent. TURNER: You know, one thing that’s very disappointing is what we’ve seen from this administration is a kind of stasis because the president can’t make decisions, they can’t take action. Here we have this massive data breach, this hacker attack from China, but we haven’t heard anything from the president himself or any actions from this administration to say what the consequences will be for them . This doesn’t just require a technical fix. This also requires a diplomatic solution, country to country, and the consequences for China –
MARGARET BRENNAN: –What will be the consequences?
represent. TURNER: Now under the Obama administration, under the Obama administration, China hacked into the U.S. government’s personnel management system without any consequences, and now we’re seeing China hack into the entire country’s systems. There need to be consequences. They can be economical. They can come in many forms. But now we have zero numbers and the government has achieved nothing. What needs to be discussed is not technically how do we solve this problem? But how we respond, that’s what Donald Trump is doing, he comes in and says China is our most serious threat. How do we deal with the fact that China is actively attacking the United States, and they’re doing it in our telecommunications space?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let the new administration address this issue. Thank you, Chairman Turner. “Face the Nation” will return in a minute. Stay with us.
