Extreme Regime Repub GWB • Attempted To USE • NBC's
Meet The Press Interview Yesterday • To Halt FAST Slide • In
His USA Approval Ratings
•• Most TELLING Thing He Said ••
"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in
foreign policy matters with war on my mind"
When Asked • If He Would Testify • Before His Newly
Appointed Presidential Commission • To Investigate Faulty
Decision To Invade Because Of Iraq WMD
Second Most TELLING Thing • GWB Sez
"This commission? You know, I don't testify."
•• Other Telling Excerpts ••
Russert: The night you took the country to war, March 17th, you
said this: "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments
leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and
conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
Bush: Right.
Russert: That apparently is not the case.
Bush: Correct.
Russert: Mr. President, the Director of the CIA said that his
briefings had qualifiers and caveats, but when you spoke to the
country, you said "there is no doubt." When Vice President
Cheney spoke to the country, he said "there is no doubt."
Secretary Powell, "no doubt." Secretary Rumsfeld, "no doubt,
we know where the weapons are." You said, quote, "The Iraqi
regime is a threat of unique urgency.” “Saddam Hussein is a
threat that we must deal with as quickly as possible."
You gave the clear sense that this was an immediate threat that
must be dealt with.
Bush: I think, if I might remind you that in my language I called
it a grave and gathering threat, but I don't want to get into word
contests. But what I do want to share with you is my sentiment
at the time. There was no doubt in my mind that Saddam
Hussein was a danger to America. [CROSSTALK]
Russert: In what way?
Bush: Well, because he had the capacity to have a weapon, make
a weapon. We thought he had weapons. The international
community thought he had weapons. But he had the capacity to
make a weapon and then let that weapon fall into the hands of a
shadowy terrorist network.
Russert: But can you launch a preemptive war without iron clad,
absolute intelligence that he had weapons of mass destruction?
Bush: Let me take a step back for a second and there is no such
thing necessarily in a dictatorial regime of iron clad absolutely
solid evidence. The evidence I had was the best possible
evidence that he had a weapon.
Russert: But it may have been wrong.
Bush: Well, but what wasn't wrong was the fact that he had the
ability to make a weapon. That wasn't right.
Russert: This is an important point because when you say that he
has biological and chemical weapons and unmanned aerial
vehicles
Bush: Which he had.
Russert: and they could come and attack the United States, you
are saying to the American people: we have to deal now with a
man who has these things.
Bush: That's exactly what I said.
Russert: And if that's not the case, do you believe if you had
gone to the Congress and said he should be removed because
he's a threat to his people but I'm not sure he has weapons of
mass destruction, Congress would authorize war?
Bush: I went to Congress with the same intelligence Congress
saw the same intelligence I had, and they looked at exactly what
I looked at, and they made an informed judgment based upon
the information that I had. The same information, by the way,
that my predecessor had. And all of us, you know, made this
judgment that Saddam Hussein needed to be removed.
Russert: There is a sense in the country that the intelligence that
was given was ambiguous, and that you took it and molded it
and shaped it your opponents have said "hyped" it and rushed
to war.
Bush: Yeah.
Russert: And now, in the world, if you, in the future, say we
must go into North Korea or we must go into Iran because they
have nuclear capability, either this country or the world will say,
‘Excuse you, Mr. President, we want it now in hard, cold facts.’
Bush: Well, Tim, I and my team took the intelligence that was
available to us and we analyzed it, and it clearly said Saddam
Hussein was a threat to America.
Now, I know I'm getting repetitive, but I'm just trying to make
sure you understand the context in which I was making
decisions.
He had used weapons. He had manufactured weapons. He had
funded suicide bombers into Israel. He had terrorist
connections. In other words, all of those ingredients said to me:
Threat.
Russert: But there are lots of madmen in the world, Fidel Castro
…
Bush: True.
Russert: … in Iran, in North Korea, in Burma, and yet we don't
go in and take down those governments.
Bush: Correct, and I could that's a legitimate question as to why
we like felt we needed to use force in Iraq and not in North
Korea. And the reason why I felt like we needed to use force in
Iraq and not in North Korea, because we had run the diplomatic
string in Iraq. As a matter of fact, failed diplomacy could
embolden Saddam Hussein in the face of this war we were in. In
Iraq I mean, in North Korea, excuse me, the diplomacy is just
beginning. We are making good progress in North Korea.
Russert: On Iraq, the vice president said, “we would be greeted
as liberators.”
Bush: Yeah.
Russert: It's now nearly a year, and we are in a very difficult
situation. Did we miscalculate how we would be treated and
received in Iraq?
Bush: Well, I think we are welcomed in Iraq. I'm not exactly
sure, given the tone of your questions, we're not. We are
welcomed in Iraq.
Russert: Are you surprised by the level and intensity of
resistance?
Bush: No, I'm not. And the reason I'm not surprised is because
there are people in that part of the world who recognize what a
free Iraq will mean in the war on terror. In other words, there
are people who desperately want to stop the advance of freedom
and democracy because freedom and democracy will be a
powerful long term deterrent to terrorist activities.
See, free societies are societies that don't develop weapons of
mass terror and don't blackmail the world.
Russert: If the Iraqis choose, however, an Islamic extremist
regime, would you accept that, and would that be better for the
United States than Saddam Hussein?
Bush: They're not going to develop that. And the reason I can
say that is because I'm very aware of this basic law they're
writing. They're not going to develop that because right here in
the Oval Office I sat down with Mr. Pachachi and Chalabi and al
Hakim, people from different parts of the country that have
made the firm commitment, that they want a constitution
eventually written that recognizes minority rights and freedom
of religion.
Russert: You do seem to have changed your mind from the 2000
campaign. In a debate, you said, "I don't think our troops ought
to be used for what's called 'nation-building.'"
Bush: Yes.
Russert: We clearly are involved in nation building.
Bush: Right. And I also said let me put it in context. I'm not
suggesting you're pulling one of these Washington tricks where
you leave half the equation out.
But I did say also that our troops must be trained and prepared
to fight and win war and, therefore, make peace more possible.
And our troops were trained to fight and win war, and we did,
and a second phase of the war is now going on. The first phase,
of course, was the Tommy Franks troop movement.
Russert: But this is nation building.
Bush: Well, it is. That's right, but we're also fighting a war so
that they can build a nation. And [crosstalk] the war is against
terrorists and disgruntled Baathists who are saying we had it
good in the past, and therefore we don't want this new society to
spring up because they have no faith in democracy, and the
terrorists who want to stop the advance of freedom.
Russert: Before we take a break, now that we have determined
there are probably not these stockpiles of weapons that we had
thought, and the primary rationale for the war had been to
disarm Saddam Hussein, Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Defense
Secretary, said that you had settled on weapons of mass
destruction as an issue we could agree on, but there were three.
“One was the weapons of mass destruction, the second is the
support for terrorism, and third is Saddam's criminal treatment
of his Iraqi people.”
He said the “third one by itself is a reason to help Iraqis but it's
not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on
the scale we did.”
Bush: Um hmm.
Russert: Now looking back, in your mind, is it worth the loss of
530 American lives and 3,000 injuries and woundings simply to
remove Saddam Hussein, even though there were no weapons
of mass destruction?
Bush: Every life is precious. Every person that is willing to
sacrifice for this country deserves our praise, and yes.
Russert: But
Bush: Let me finish.
Russert: Please.
Bush: It's essential that I explain this properly to the parents of
those who lost their lives.
Saddam Hussein was dangerous, and I’m not gonna leave him in
power and trust a madman. He's a dangerous man. He had the
ability to make weapons at the very minimum.
For the parents of the soldiers who have fallen who are listening,
David Kay, the weapons inspector, came back and said, “In
many ways Iraq was more dangerous than we thought.” It's we
are in a war against these terrorists who will bring great harm to
America, and I've asked these young ones to sacrifice for that.
A free Iraq will change the world. It's historic times. A free Iraq
will make it easier for other children in our own country to grow
up in a safer world because in the Middle East is where you find
the hatred and violence that enables the enemy to recruit its
killers.
And, Tim, as you can tell, I've got a foreign policy that is one
that believes America has a responsibility in this world to lead, a
responsibility to lead in the war against terror, a responsibility to
speak clearly about the threats that we all face, a responsibility
to promote freedom, to free people from the clutches of barbaric
people such as Saddam Hussein who tortured, mutilated there
were mass graves that we have found a responsibility to fight
AIDS, the pandemic of AIDS, and to feed the hungry. We have a
responsibility. To me that is history's call to America. I accept
the call and will continue to lead in that direction.
Russert: In light of not finding the weapons of mass destruction,
do you believe the war in Iraq is a war of choice or a war of
necessity?
Bush: I think that's an interesting question. Please elaborate on
that a little bit. A war of choice or a war of necessity? It's a war
of necessity. We-- in my judgment, we had no choice when we
look at the intelligence I looked at that says the man was a
threat. And you know, we will find out about the weapons of
mass destruction that we all thought were there. That's part of
the Iraqi survey group and the group I put together to look at.
Russert: And we are back in the Oval Office talking to the
President of the United States.
Mr. President, this campaign is fully engaged. The chairman of
the Democratic National Committee, Terence McAuliffe, said
this last week: "I look forward to that debate when John Kerry, a
war hero with a chest full of medals, is standing next to George
Bush, a man who was AWOL in the Alabama National Guard.
He didn't show up when he should have showed up."
Bush: Yeah.
Russert: How do you respond?
Bush: Political season is here. I was I served in the National
Guard. I flew F 102 aircraft. I got an honorable discharge. I've
heard this I've heard this ever since I started running for office. I
I put in my time, proudly so.
I would be careful to not denigrate the Guard. It's fine to go
after me, which I expect the other side will do. I wouldn't
denigrate service to the Guard, though, and the reason I
wouldn't, is because there are a lot of really fine people who
served in the National Guard and who are serving in the
National Guard today in Iraq.
Russert: The Boston Globe and the Associated Press have gone
through some of their records and said there’s no evidence that
you reported to duty in Alabama during the summer and fall of
1972.
Bush: Yeah, they re they're just wrong. There may be no
evidence, but I did report; otherwise, I wouldn't have been
honorably discharged. In other words, you don't just say "I did
something" without there being verification. Military doesn't
work that way. I got an honorable discharge, and I did show up
in Alabama.
Russert: You did were allowed to leave eight months before
your term expired. Was there a reason?
Bush: Right. Well, I was going to Harvard Business School and
worked it out with the military.
Russert: The Bush Cheney first three years, the unemployment
rate has gone up 33 percent, there has been a loss of 2.2 million
jobs. We've gone from a $281 billion surplus to a $521 billion
deficit. The debt has gone from 5.7 trillion, to $7 trillion up 23
percent.
Based on that record, why should the American people rehire
you as CEO?
Bush: Sure, because I have been the President during a time of
tremendous stress on our economy and made the decisions
necessary to lead that would enhance recovery. We’ll review the
bidding here. The stock market started to decline in March of
2000. That was the first sign that things were troubled. The
recession started upon my arrival. It could have been some say
February, some say March, some speculate maybe earlier it
started, but nevertheless it happened as we showed up here.
The attacks on our country affected our economy. Corporate
scandals affected the confidence of people and therefore affected
the economy. My decision on Iraq, this kind of march to war,
affected the economy, but we have been through a lot. And
what those numbers show is the fact we have been through a lot.
But what the people must understand is that instead of
wondering what to do, I acted, and I acted by cutting the taxes
on individuals and small businesses, primarily. And that, itself,
has led to this recovery.
So, you show that the numbers kind of I'm not suggesting the
chart only shows the bad numbers, but how about the fact that
we are now increasing jobs or the fact that unemployment is now
down to
5. 6 percent? There was a winter recession and unemployment
went up, and now it's heading in the right direction.
The economic stimulus plan that I passed, or I asked the
Congress to pass, and I worked with Congress to pass, is
making a big difference.
Russert: But when you proposed your first tax cut in 2001, you
said this was going to generate 800,000 new jobs. Your tax cut of
2003, create a million new jobs. That has not happened.
Bush: Well, it's happening. It's happening. And there is good
momentum when it comes to the creation of new jobs.
Again, we have been through a lot. This economy has been
through a lot, which is why I'm so optimistic about the future
because I know what we have been through.
And I look forward to debate on the economy because I think
one of those things that's very important is that the
entrepreneurial spirit of this country be strong and the small
business sector be strong. And the policies I have laid out
enhance entrepreneurship, they encourage small business
creation, and I think this economy is coming around just right,
frankly.
Russert: The General Accounting Office, which are the nation's
auditors
Bush: Yeah.
Russert: have done a study of our finances.
Bush: Um hmm.
Russert: And this is what your legacy will be to the next
generation. It says that our “current fiscal policy is
unsustainable.” They did a computer simulation that shows that
balancing the budget in 2040 could require either cutting total
Federal spending in half or doubling Federal taxes.
Bush: Um hmm.
Russert: How why, as a fiscal conservative as you like to call
yourself, would you allow a $500 billion deficit and this kind of
deficit disaster?
Bush: Sure. The budget I just proposed to the Congress cuts the
deficit in half in five years.
Now, I don't know what the assumptions are in the GAO report,
but I do know that if Congress is wise with the people's money,
we can cut the deficit in half. And at that point in time, as a
percentage of GDP, the deficit will be relatively low.
Russert: That's a very important point. Every president since the
Civil War who has gone to war has raised taxes, not cut them.
Bush: Yeah.
Russert: Raised to pay for it. Why not say, I will not cut taxes
any more until we have balanced the budget? If our situation is
so precious and delicate because of the war, why do you keep
cutting taxes and draining money from the treasury?
Bush: Well, because I believe that the best way to stimulate
economic growth is to let people keep more of their own
money. And I believe that if you raise taxes as the economy is
beginning to recover from really tough times, you will slow
down economic growth. You will make it harder.
See, I'm more worried about the fellow looking for the job.
That's what I'm worried about. I want people working. I want
people to find work. And so, when we stimulate the economy,
it's more likely that person is going to find work. And the best
way to stimulate the economy is not to raise taxes but to hold
the low taxes down.
Russert: How about no more tax cuts until the budget is
balanced?
Bush: Well, that's a hypothetical question which I can't answer to
you because I don't know how strong the economy is going to
be.
Russert: And we are back.
Mr. President, last time you were on the show you said that you
wanted to change the tone in the nation.
Bush: Yes.
Russert: This is Time magazine: "Love Him or Hate Him: Why
George Bush arouses such passion and what it means for the
country."
Bush: Yes.
Russert: Tom Daschle, the Democratic Leader in the Senate, said
that you've changed the tone for the worse; that it's more
acrimonious, more confrontations, that you are the most partisan
political president he's ever worked with.
Our exit polls of primary voters, not just Democrats but
Independents in South Carolina and New Hampshire, more than
70 percent of them said they are angry or dissatisfied with you,
and they point to this whole idea of being a uniter as opposed to
a divider.
Why do you think you are perceived as such a divider?
Bush: Gosh, I don't know, because I'm working hard to unite the
country. As a matter of fact, it's the hardest part of being the
president. I was successful as the Governor of Texas for
bringing people together for the common good, and I must tell
you it's tough here in Washington, and frankly it's the biggest
disappointment that I've had so far of coming to Washington.
I'm not blaming anybody. It's just the environment here is such
that it is difficult to find common ground. I‘ll give you a classic
case: the Medicare bill. The Medicare bill was a tough vote, but
the Medicare bill is a bill that a lot of people could have signed
on to and had it not been for kind of the sense of, well, ‘Bush
might win, we might lose,’ you know, or ‘Bush might lose, we
might win’ kind of attitude.
And… but I will continue to work hard to unite the country. I
don't speak ill of anybody in the process here. I think if you
went back and looked at my comments, you will see I don't
attack. I don't hold up people. I talk about what I believe in,
and I lead, and maybe perhaps I believe so strongly in what we
are doing around the world or doing here at home.
Russert: But around the world, in Europe, favorable ratings
unfavorable ratings, 70 in Germany, 67 in France.
Bush: But you know, Tim, that
Russert: Why do people hold you with such contempt
Bush: Heck, I don't know, Ronald Reagan was unpopular in
Europe when he was President, according to Jose Maria Aznar.
And I said, ‘You know something? ‘
He said to me, he said, ‘You're nearly as unpopular as Ronald
Reagan was.’ I said, ‘so, first of all, I'm keeping pretty good
company.’
Russert: Two polls out this weekend show you --
Bush: See there, you're quoting polls.
Russert: you're trailing John Kerry in both U.S.A. Today and
Newsweek polls by seven and five points.
Bush: Yeah.
Russert: This is what John Kerry had to say last year. He said
that his colleagues are appalled at the quote "President's lack of
knowledge. They've managed him the same way they've
managed Ronald Reagan. They send him out to the press for
one event a day. They put him in a brown jacket and jeans and
get him to move some hay or move a truck, and all of a sudden
he's the Marlboro Man. I know this guy. He was two years
behind me at Yale. I knew him, and he's still the same guy.”
Did you know him at Yale?
Bush: No.
Russert: How do you respond to that?
President Bush: Politics. I mean, this is—you know, if you close
your eyes and listen carefully to what you just said, it sounds
like the year 2000 all over again.
Bush: First of all, he's not the nominee, and I look forward
Russert: Are you prepared to lose?
Bush: No, I'm not going to lose.
Russert: If you did, what would you do?
Bush: Well, I don't plan on losing. I have got a vision for what I
want to do for the country. See, I know exactly where I want to
lead. I want to lead us I want to lead this world toward more
peace and freedom. I want to lead this great country to work
with others to change the world in positive ways, particularly as
we fight the war on terror, and we got changing times here in
America, too.
LINK: FULL Transcript • Of GWB Interview • February 8, 2004
BACKGROUND and REACTIONS •• To GWB Major Interview
LINK:
Even WSJ Sez •• GWB Major Interview A FLOP
LINK: GWB •• Unpersuasive Performer In Interview
LINK: Wreckage Of USA Allies • From Iraq Invasion
Continues
LINK: GWB Brags •• That He Is A "war president"
LINK: GWB Trying To Charm His Way •• To Legitimate
Election Win
LINK:
Over 10,000 Total Dead •• In Iraq Invasion •• Where Is The
Outrage?
LINK:
GWB •• Still Blocking 911 Documents
LINK: GWB Talks In Major Interview •• Count The Lies!
5:30:51 AM
