Ann Coulter on Cuba, Mideast Crisis

This is a partial transcript of "The Big Story With John Gibson," August 1, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

JOHN GIBSON, HOST: The big story at the State Department today is the possibility of a Democratic transition on the island of Cuba. Spokesman Sean McCormack says the U.S. has no doubt the Cuban people are weary of communist rule after 47 years and are eager to choose their leaders rather than having them imposed. The government wants to see Cuba transition to democracy, not see Castro's brother succeed him.

Will that happen? Let's ask Ann Coulter, author of "Godless: The Church of Liberalism."

So, does this seem like a break in the long national nightmare of the Cuban people?

ANN COULTER, AUTHOR, "GODLESS": Unless his brother Raul is the George Washington of the Cubans, probably not. Not without some sort of action and we're just going to trade one dictator for the next.

I do think it's mentioned this long national nightmare for the Cubans wouldn't have happened at all if not for a typically incompetent Democratic mission under Kennedy when he withdrew air cover from the Cubans during the Bay of Pigs at the last minute. He shouldn't have let them go in at all if he was going to withdraw air cover. It's just a typical incompetent Democrat move and we could have had him out 40 years ago.

GIBSON: Raul is said to be the more radical of the two.

COULTER: That's what I heard. That's why I'm not looking at this with bright prospects. I mean, it's a tiny tin pot dictatorship. Why not make this George Bush's Grenada? How about taking this guy out?

GIBSON: You are suggesting we attempt yet another invasion?

COULTER: Yes. The Cubans could do it if we gave them air cover at this time.

GIBSON: Raul is also 75.

COULTER: Though I have to say I do not want the Cubans to go back so I have mixed feelings. I want the Cubans who have come here to stay here and keep voting.

GIBSON: You like them, yes, all right. Raul is 75 and Fidel is 80. I mean, even if Raul takes over for a few years, it's not for very long.

COULTER: Right, and I'm sure they have some monstrous communist dictator waiting in the wings to take over for Raul, who's probably a spring chicken at 72.

GIBSON: The other thing that is worth talking about is what is going on in the Middle East and we were speaking at length with a guest about whether the U.S. has reasonable goals at this point, whether George Bush has reasonable goals. Do you think we can disarm, we, do you think the Israelis can disarm Hezbollah?

COULTER: No. I mean, it is the West against Islamic fascists and yes, I mean, we have to. As I have said, this is a war that has been going on for 30 years. Hezbollah has killed lots of Americans. We have Islamic jihad. I mean, it just shows how absurd is the Democrats perseverance about where's Usama, where's Usama. It's not just Al Qaeda and it certainly isn't just Usama bin Laden. This war has been going on for 30 years and we're going to fight it to win now, as long as Americans don't put another Democrat in the White House.

GIBSON: Does this Nasrallah guy seem like a competitor to bin Laden, a terror god of the first order?

COULTER: That I haven't thought of. Like an "American Idol" of the Islamic fascists. We can vote for him.

GIBSON: His popularity is raging in the Middle East. Al-Jazeera has made him the rock star of the Middle East. He is standing up to the Americans and he is rocketing Israel. The American bombs are pounding his people and yet he survives. He is the newest Usama.

COULTER: I think there are a lot competing for that title. Perhaps he is at the moment, but we do have to deal with all of them.

GIBSON: Is it reasonable though to expect, you think, that the Israelis can get in there and actually disarm these guys or that we're going to have to stop this thing at some point, a little bit short of Hezbollah being completely gone?

COULTER: Oh, I think that would be a mistake. I mean, that is the problem. We never fight these wars to the end. We shoot a few rockets into Syria as we're pulling out of Beirut after Hezbollah kills 241 of our Marines in 1983. We always have a little skirmish with them and then pull out again. Well, OK, you keep doing that and after 30 years you get 9/11.

GIBSON: What do you think is going on right now? I mean, when he turned up with whether it is 60 or 30 bodies in Qana, when all those women and kids are killed and you see the State Department sort of insisting on Israel finishing this quickly, what do you think is going on?

COULTER: The same thing that always goes on with the State Department: Fighting in the war room. That's why we have so much contempt for the State Department.

GIBSON: All right, Ann Coulter, author of "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," on both Cuba and what's going on in the Middle East.

Ann, thanks very much.

Content and Programming Copyright 2006 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2006 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and Voxant, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.