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Reporting and analysis from ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent and "This Week" Host George Stephanopoulos

George Stephanopoulos reports on events in politics, Congress and the White House for ABCNews, on the air and online. He interviews top newsmakers, discusses the events of the week and looks to the week ahead each Sunday on 'This Week.'

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Biden on Iran: 'Everything Is On the Table'

July 04, 2009 11:51 AM

Vice President Joe Biden told me today "everything is on the table" when it comes to protecting the interests of the U.S. and Israel against the threat of an Iranian nuclear attack.

During my exclusive interview with Biden in Iraq airing Sunday on "This Week" I asked the vice president about recent comments by former secretary of state James Baker who suggested that the way to deal with Iran's nuclear program going forward is to target U.S. missiles on Iran the way the nation targeted them against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

I asked Biden," Do you agree with that?"

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to discuss whether our strategic policy should be relative to Iran, other than to say to you is that tried expression, everything is on the table," Biden told me. 

The vice president added, "We are determined to protect the national interests of the United States and the regional interests of our friends against any Iranian threat. And so everything is on the table."

Catch more of my exclusive behind-the-scenes interview with the vice president in Iraq airing Sunday morning on "This Week."

--George Stephanopoulos


 

July 4, 2009 in Iran, Joe Biden , This Week with George Stephanopoulos | Permalink | Share | User Comments (32)

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It doesn't really matter what she does or says... the bottom line is the left hates her and they will do and say every nasty thing they can to denigrate her.... even going after her kids....and the elite media will be right there helping them along..... Quite a disgusting commentary on the citizens of our country......

Posted by: turbidmedia | Jul 4, 2009 1:10:15 PM

The left hates her? We all hate her. When McCain announced her as a running mate I was thinking this could be good! Then her lips moved! Boy was I wrong and for the first time in 15 years I voted for a democrat. Sucks when it comes down to two major players. Palin stepped down, or "passed the ball" because she knew it was game over for her. She knew she made alot of mistakes and knew she was killing our Republican party.

Posted by: The Conservative | Jul 4, 2009 1:18:08 PM

The article doesn't report what the link says, "BIDEN: Palin No 'Blood Sport' Victim...But Biden accepts Palin's claim she stepped down for personal reasons. "I take her at her word that it had a personal ingredient in it, and you have to respect that," he tells ABC News' "This Week."

But considering the nasty way she went after anyone in the center, let alone liberal, it's odd that the commenter that finds American behavior toward her "disgusting" doesn't find Palin herself disgusting!

But we know there's at least one person praying that Palin will run for President in 2012: Obama!

Posted by: The_Mick | Jul 4, 2009 1:20:29 PM

Slow day even though happly eventful. Apparently a large portion of the Repub/Corporate plants aren't working the sweatshop keyboards today. Probably won't pay time and a half!

Posted by: chonder2 | Jul 4, 2009 1:30:20 PM

NO ONE likes Sarah Palin. She's a buffoon. Not one ranking Republican names her as a contender for a main role in 2012. She rallies the right wing lowest common denominator, a denominator that is becoming less and less relevant...mercifully.

Posted by: Brad | Jul 4, 2009 1:37:30 PM

Last year Obama called McCain elitist because his father was an admiral. When in fact McCain didn't grow up with money and had to move from place to place.

Last year during the campaign biden said his plane over afghasnistan had to land because of ground fire. In reality it had to land because of a snowstorm. Yet the media was silent on that huge fabrication.

A few years ago Biden said he was shot at in Iraq in the green zone. When in fact a mortar landed miles away. The media was silent on this fabrication.

There is a huge double standard in american politics.

McCain's son has been on the front lines twice overseas and yet Biden's son who isn't on the front lines got the attention in the campaign.

Biden is all over the place. He wanted to break up Iraq into three separate governing areas giving the oil wealth all to the shias.

Biden is now in Iraq riling up the sunnis and being a lackey for maliki's shia.

There is no one in politics who is bigger lackey for iran and their shia friends in iraq than Joe Biden.

Posted by: Jeff | Jul 4, 2009 1:41:00 PM

Steps down for "personal reasons"? Yeah, the biggest one is being grossly unqualified to hold any public office. That she could have become VPOTUS should be considered a threat to our national security. What if she had decided to resign from the presidency for "personal reasons"? Someone like her should never be in line for the presidency of the US. It's frightening.

Posted by: J Robinson | Jul 4, 2009 1:55:31 PM

To those just dogging on Biden? One word. Cheney. I'd take Biden any day over Cheney.

Posted by: FedUp | Jul 4, 2009 2:00:21 PM

It is so interesting to watch, on America's birthday, the Left with it's socialist pundits and idle and anti-american backers, flock here to spread their usual pack of untruths.

Democrats, as a rule, hate American traditions and values. My advice to you people is to go move to Russia, China, Iran or North Korea where you belong.

Posted by: Jon | Jul 4, 2009 2:05:06 PM

Biden is a joke, and his son Beau engaged in massive abuse of power as AG of Delaware when he had Larry Sinclair arrested after his press conference at the National Press Conference in Washington, DC this summer. After bleeding Sinclair of over $10,000 in legal fees, Biden inexplicably dropped all criminal charges against Sinclair. Why have you heard nothing about this story? Because Stephanopoulos and the mainstream media are in the back pocket of Obama, and are feverishly attempting to whitewash all aspects of the Larry Sinclair story, including his encounter with Obama in Chicago back in November of 1999.

No matter. Sinclair's book is finally out, and he recounts the sordid story of the Biden abuse of power. The book is titled "Barack Obama and Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies, and Murder?" Pick it up, and send a message to the MSM that they have lost this one, that the story will get out regardless of their best efforts to silence Sinclair.

Posted by: gianni | Jul 4, 2009 2:10:10 PM

Palin does as she pleases. She is tired of all the negative press and she quits. This erratic, unstable approach to the world does not play well in politics. Certainly, Palin has not had any more negative press than Hillary. But Hillary stuck it out...she's strong...Palin takes her marbles and goes home. That's the difference.

Posted by: sosupernova | Jul 4, 2009 2:32:51 PM

I can't believe we are a nation full of idiots!

Palin said she was leaving to promote an agenda that she can't do from behind her desk. That her being Gov. was a distraction from the real work that needs to be done because of the idiots that ran up 2mil in legal bills for the state.

The talking heads don't have ears.

Lastly, none of us in America should just pick a team! This isn't the NFL playoffs it's our country and we need to get out of the gossip and start working to make these politicians accountable. Stop letting them pass these massive bills w/o reading them. Stop the cap and trade... no one can afford, etc.

Posted by: Tiffany | Jul 4, 2009 2:39:20 PM

The news media is obsessed about Palin--resigns or sinks or sails or stumbles--,but I don't. We are facing serious issues which need attention and debate and the media should devote much time to this rather than Palin. The year 1012 more than three years away.

Posted by: vpcam50 | Jul 4, 2009 2:40:11 PM

Palin was all but calling Obama a terrorist. That is some pretty raunchy stuff. McCain did NOT do that. McCAin would NOT attack Obama on a personal basis, in fact, when someone talked about Obama being a muslim, mcCain put a stop to it and said Obama was a good man. That was the HUGE difference between McCAin and Palin. Palin is the typical "mean girl". High school mentality, all into herself and her looks, totally brainless, and wehen someone calls her on her lack of knowledge she cries "why is everyone picking on me". She is ruthless, just ruthless to anyone who is against her. Look at her pattern of behavior. She has folks yelling to kill Obama and she hears it and smiles. SMiles. That is a CRIME. Someone asked McCain if he called his wife the c word and ya know what secret security did to him??? plucked him out of the crowd, shuffled him off to some back room and held him and questioned him for a long time. Yet Palin is calling Obama a terrorist and nothing happens. Yeah, the 'terrorist' has the stock market up 45% since he's been in office. TARP is beginning to be paid back. He just saved Chrysler. Things Palin would have zero idea of where to even begin. THank God this women never got near washington. If something is wrong with her family, I hope they're all alright, but i"m glad she's out public office. She's a personality. she should be a talk show. She needs to start understanding where her strengths are. I think she'd be a good conservative version of Oprah.

Posted by: R U kidding me | Jul 4, 2009 2:42:14 PM

I think it was very appropriate to see Palin sharing the headlines with the record breaking hot dog eater. A great fit.

Posted by: dale sarver | Jul 4, 2009 2:42:19 PM

Quitting is sort of whta she does, though. She quit how many colleges??? Five ? or six? and these were easy colleges for a REALLY EASY major. She was mayor for what, one term? Or did she leave that term early to run for governor. She's governor for less than one term, nad she takes off on the state to run for VP> Now, before her first term is up, she quits again. This is sort of what she does. Attention deficit. She has good looks. She wants to live off her looks. Well, she can, actually. She should. Politics or anything brainy is really not her thing. She talks good. She should concentrate on a career where she can talk and show off her good looks. And...something where if she takes off after getting half way through, she doesn't get sued. One year contracts. Good luck Sarah.

Posted by: just sayn | Jul 4, 2009 2:45:47 PM

I’m sure Gov. Palin is more than capable of taking anything the press can dish out. When they started going after her children it got to be too much.

We all know the flack about her oldest daughter’s child. The press even wrote articles about Palin’s daughter’s boyfriend’s mother. Anyone remotely connected to the governor seems open to personal attack by the press and by TV comedians.

One TV talk show host even said that Palin’s younger daughter was “knocked ** by a professional baseball player. You don’t joke about children in that manner. They super imposed a picture of a talk radio host on Palin’s youngest son to make it appear that she was holding the talk radio host in her lap. I think that was the last straw.

I can’t think of any American politician in history who has received as many personal attacks on their family. Even Billy Carter wasn’t hit that bad and he was a grown man! Leave the children alone. It’s too low, too dirty, too immature and no where near professional.

Posted by: Oonogil | Jul 4, 2009 2:52:15 PM

just sayn

How many terms did President Obama serve as a US Senator?

Posted by: Oonogil | Jul 4, 2009 2:57:53 PM

Having Biden even standing with out troops is a joke, everybody that voted for these 2 clowns should be exiled to Haiti and never allowed to multiply and never be allowed to vote in any US election.
I'll take Sara over any of the dems any day, she is a true American, you just can't handle the truth, you want her on that wall.

Posted by: Darthgator | Jul 4, 2009 3:37:06 PM

The Libs hate July 4th.

Posted by: Darthgator | Jul 4, 2009 3:39:44 PM

Palin's resignation statement on Alaska's official governor's site read like a teenager's text message, only more full of ridiculous errors and incoherent rambling. How totally embarrassing it is this woman was elected to an office in America.

Posted by: christianecon.com | Jul 4, 2009 4:30:39 PM

Yeah, right up there with Obama's "um...uh..well...ahhh...you see..um..uh" whenever he's not on the teleprompter. I'll take Palin any day over Obama. She is much quicker on her feet and does not rely on a telemprompter.

Posted by: gianni | Jul 4, 2009 4:39:12 PM


The ONLY reason that Biden is in office as VP( or any office) ; is because he makes a dull tack look sharp. Someone has to make Obama look smart.

Posted by: tiredofthelies | Jul 4, 2009 5:15:39 PM

'Everything Is On the Table' So good to know our gov is willing to work with leaders that kill and intimidate their own people, and we'll be standing beside them watching them do it. Wonderful.

And BTW this stupid obsession over Sarah Palin, is so misogynistic and a sad day in our country that this type of behaviour has returned.

Posted by: Baddawg00 | Jul 4, 2009 6:26:29 PM

What is wrong with us Americans? Don’t we have enough insight left?
We/You kept giving and getting credit for everything under the sun, housing, automobiles, hard goods, and all the rest, at the same time shipping our manufacturing base to low-cost labor countries!
What is wrong with our industrial and financial geniuses and the omnipresent know-it-all politicians? We were offered a carrot at one end of the stick and hit on the head with a baseball bat at the other, and on top of it we let our country be invaded by the lowest-of-the-lowest of cheap and unskilled labor, while reducing our manufacturing to dangerously low levels. Where has our brainpower gone?...apparently evaporated! (and overseas, with all the transfers of technology).

Let's come to our senses before it’s too late for our (once) great country and take things back to where they were before this insane globalization.

Let's produce all we can in our country and import what we need or want, but with a customs duty that protects our own... Those who can afford to pay for imported goods should be able to, but not at our expense and security.

Wake up Americans and let's start a ground swell movement throughout the country, to go back to the ways before globalization began, BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

Blaming our own leaders, (whether left or right) will not save us from total economic and social collapse.

Americans… let's come to our senses!

Posted by: edga | Jul 4, 2009 9:56:30 PM

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