20 June 2004

War on Terror Must Be "Global Effort," Frist Says

Senate majority leader discusses international cooperation

By Bridget Hunter
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The war on terror must be a "global effort," and success depends on involving the international community, according to the U.S. Senate majority leader.

Senator Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee, spoke June 20 on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

The senator stated that "we need to continue to work with the international community to make sure that the international community puts appropriate pressure on the governments as well as the terrorists, the entities, in order to rid us of this great scourge today."

Frist also discussed the Saudi response to the killing of American Paul Johnson and the war on terror in general, observing that Saudi Arabia is "stepping up" its efforts to counter terrorism and is responding with "a new aggressiveness."

"We're getting good cooperation [from the Saudi government]," Frist concluded.

On the subject of cooperation from other members of the international community, Frist was less positive. When questioned specifically on the continued refusal of France and Germany to substantively contribute to the efforts in Iraq, either through supplying troops or funds, or by forgiving debt incurred by the former Iraqi regime, the senator responded, "It is time for the international community to step up and to aggressively ... come to the table in Iraq." Frist added that that he would like to see a role for NATO in Iraq.

During the course of the interview, Frist also discussed several domestic legislative issues, including the legal definition of marriage and stem cell research.