Bush:"...I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma..."
Forget the derivative crap from the blogs.
Below is the actual transcript :
transcripts.cnn.com
this is the pablum dished out to J6P by our news media.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.
Happening now, it's 5:00 p.m. in Washington.
Just ahead, my exclusive interview with President Bush. I'll ask him about a civil war in Iraq, the battle of immigration, and the pope's controversial comments about Islam.
It's 5:00 p.m. at the United Nations, still reeling from the shocking comments of Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez. He calls President Bush "the devil." And that's just for starters.
And it's 1:30 a.m. in Afghanistan. NATO's top commander calls it a moment of truth as allied troops call for reinforcement against the Taliban insurgency.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
In part one of my exclusive interview we just heard President Bush vow to go after Osama bin Laden no matter which border American forces may have to cross. That's drawn an immediate reaction from Pakistan's president, a negative reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: We won't like to allow that at all. We will do it ourselves. We would like to do it ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Now part two of my exclusive interview with President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's move on and talk a little bit about Iraq...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sure.
BLITZER: ... because this is a huge, huge issue, as you know, for the American public. A lot of concern that perhaps they are on the verge of a civil war, if not already a civil war.
BUSH: Yes.
BLITZER: I'll read to you what Kofi Annan said on Monday. He said, "If current patterns of alienation and violence persist much further, there is a grave danger the Iraqi state will break down, possibly in the midst of a full-scale civil war."
Is this what the American people bought into?
BUSH: You know, it's interesting you quoted Kofi. I'd rather quote the people on the ground who are very close to the situation, who live it day by day, our ambassador, or General Casey. I ask this question all the time, "Tell me what it's like there." And this notion that we are in civil war is just not true, according to them. These are people that live the issue.
BLITZER: We see these horrible...
BUSH: Of course you do.
BLITZER: ... bodies showing up, torture, mutilation.
BUSH: Yes.
BLITZER: The Shia and the Sunni, the Iranians apparently having a negative role. Of course, Al Qaeda in Iraq still operating.
BUSH: Yes, you see it on TV. And that's the -- that's the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there is also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people.
Twelve million people voted last December. Admittedly, it seems like a decade ago. I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma, because there is -- my point is, there is a strong will for democracy.
These people want a unity government. The unity government is functioning.
I'm impressed by President Maliki. I've talked to him. I've seen the decision-making process that he's put in place. The Iraqi army is still recruiting and training.
BLITZER: But you weren't upset when he went to Tehran and gave a big hug and a kiss to Ahmadinejad.
BUSH: Excuse me for a minute. I was on a brilliant point, as you know. The Iraqi government and the Iraqi military is committed to keeping this country together. And so, therefore, I reject the notion that this country's in civil war based upon experts, not based upon people who are speculating.
I fully recognize it's still dangerous and there's more work to do. The enemy has got the capacity to get on your TV screens by killing innocent people, and that should speak volumes to the American people about the nature of these people we face.
BLITZER: The visit -- the visit from Nuri al-Maliki to Iran ...
BUSH: To Iran.
BLITZER: ... that was -- that was a picture that -- a lot of Americans saw that picture, big hug, big kiss, and they said, hey, what's going on here?
BUSH: But wait a minute. What's going on here is you've got the president of a sovereign nation going to a neighbor, making it clear to the neighbor to stop meddling with their new democracy, that he would expect there to be support of this new government and not undermining the new government.
This is a man who is dedicated and committed to a unity government. He has taken great risks to advance the cause of peace and unity is his country, and so...
BLITZER: So the bottom line, you have confidence in him? Because a lot of other people are beginning to lose confidence.
BUSH: Yes. No, I have -- I don't only have confidence in him, but General Casey and, again, our ambassador. That's how I learn it.
I can't learn it -- I frankly can't learn it from your newscasts. What I've got to learn it from is people who are there on the ground.
And so I ask them all the time, "How are things going? Give me the decision-making process of Prime Minister Maliki. Is he growing in the job?"
The guy's been there for about 100 days, and I am impressed by his -- his strength of character.
BLITZER: I woke up in New York like you did this morning. I read...
BUSH: And what are you reading there?
BLITZER: ... the "New York Times," there's a paragraph in there -- I'll read it to you -- about your dad's former secretary of state, James Baker.
"In his 1995 memoir, Mr. Baker said he opposed ousting Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 because he feared that such action might lead to an Iraqi civil war, to criticism from many of our allies, and to an eventual loss of American support for an occupation."
BUSH: Yes. Yes. He -- he was writing before September the 11th, 2001, and the world changed that day, Wolf.
BLITZER: But Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
BUSH: Excuse me for a minute, please. The world changed that day because we had to deal with threats. No question Saddam Hussein did not order the attacks.
On the other hand, Saddam Hussein was viewed as a threat by the Congress, by the United Nations, and by the United States administration. And so James Baker was writing before the world changed.
And we took out Saddam Hussein because he was viewed as a threat. He was a state sponsor of terror. He had used weapons of mass destruction. He had invaded his neighbors.
The decision was the right decision. And now the question is, will this country and our coalition partners have the will to support this new government, a democracy in the heart of the Middle East?
BLITZER: You know, you were thinking of dealing with Saddam Hussein long before 9/11.
BUSH: Well, I wasn't in office long before 9/11.
BLITZER: No, let me remind you...
BUSH: Wait a minute. I wasn't in office that much longer.
BLITZER: I'm going to remind you of an interview you and I did...
BUSH: It was 9/11/2001 and I swore in in January of 2001.
BLITZER: But when you were a candidate for president -- you were still the governor of Texas -- you and I sat down in Iowa...
BUSH: Right.
BLITZER: ... just before the Iowa caucus, and we had this exchange.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: We shouldn't be sending mixed signals. And if any time I found that the Iraqis were developing weapons of mass destruction, they wouldn't exist anymore.
BLITZER: Who wouldn't exist anymore? The weapons wouldn't exist...
BUSH: The weapons of mass destruction, yes. And I'm not going to -- they just need to hear that from a potential president. If we catch them in violation of the agreement, if we in any way, shape or form find out that they're developing weapons of mass destruction, that there will be action taken. And they can just guess what that action might be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The point though being that -- at least to my mind -- the weapons of mass destruction issue, in your mind, even as a candidate running for president, was a trigger potentially that could lead to war.
BUSH: Well, of course Saddam -- I viewed Saddam Hussein for what he was, a threat. He was declared a state sponsor of terror, Wolf, by previous administrations.
BLITZER: But there are other countries that have been declared state sponsors of terror, like North Korea, like Syria, Cuba. You don't go to war against them.
BUSH: Well, North Korea hadn't invaded its neighbors. North Korea, you know, hadn't made declarations of intent. North Korea is relatively isolated compared to Iraq.
Every threat must be taken seriously and every threat must be dealt with in different fashion. I strongly stand by my decision to remove Saddam Hussein.
BLITZER: And you don't look back with any regrets?
BUSH: I regret when people lose lives. But -- you know, and presidents don't get to do do-overs. But I believe that the decision was the right decision. And now we've got to help this young democracy survive.
And what's interesting is extremists and radicals aim to destroy young democracies, whether it be Hezbollah, or whether it be al Qaeda, who you mentioned, in Iraq. And that's the real challenge of this -- of this century. It's a challenge between moderation and reform versus extremism and radicalism. Those extremists and radicals are willing to use terror and murder as a weapon to achieve their objectives.
BLITZER: We invited some of our viewers to send me some questions that they would want to ask. I'm going to read one of them.
Ray Freedell, from Corte Madera, California: "Why is it taking so long to secure our borders?"
Which is a fair question, given the debate over immigration.
The House has passed legislation that would support building a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. Senator Frist told me yesterday that he's going to put that now before the Senate. Even though it's not part of what you want, comprehensive immigration reform.
If the Senate passes what the House has passed, will you sign it into law?
BUSH: It's a part of strengthening the border. And we're in the process now of spending the money that they appropriated last session to modernize the border. And one reason -- the guy's question -- Ray's question was, "Why is it taking so long." It's a long border.
It takes -- it takes a lot of manpower and new equipment to enforce that border. And Ray needs to know things are changing quite dramatically.
BLITZER: So, will you sign it into law?
BUSH: One thing that has changed is catch and release. Prior to the expenditure of the money that these guys -- the Senate and the House have appropriated, we would catch somebody trying to sneak in and just release them back into society. That's been ended.
And so a lot of reform has taken place.
You know, yes, I'll sign it into law. They're appropriating money -- I believe that's what you're talking about -- and it's part of the appropriations process, if I'm not mistaken.
BLITZER: Put another way, is it just a narrow focus on border security? Without the --without the guest worker program or the other issues, you'll just take that for now?
BUSH: Well I just -- that's what I did last time when I signed the appropriations process. I firmly believe the Senate and the House need to work together on a comprehensive plan to solve this problem. I would view this as an interim step. I don't view this as the final product. And I will keep -- I will keep urging people to have a comprehensive reform.
You can't enforce the border until you have a rational guest worker program. In other words, people should come here on a temporary basis and then go home.
People are sneaking across to work. And no matter how much equipment you have on that border, people will find ways to do so. And so, it is a rational way to enforce the border.
What their talking about in the House and the Senate is a temporary step. If you're question is, will I stop trying to push for a comprehensive reform? The answer is, no, I won't stop trying to push for comprehensive reform.
BLITZER: All right, but you'll go along with this, if they pass it?
BUSH: But just -- just to remind you, the last legislative session they passed an appropriations bill that was essentially security only. And I signed that. And we're implementing that right now to get the border enforced.
BLITZER: All right. Let's talk -- because we only have a minute left or so.
BUSH: Yes.
BLITZER: The Pope, he's got some controversy right now over what he said about Islam. Did he -- did he do the right thing? What do you think of this uproar?
BUSH: I think -- look, I think -- I was appreciative of the fact he tried to clarify what he meant. This is a struggle not between religions -- and that's what people have got to understand -- it's a struggle between people who use religion to kill and those of us who are for peace. And to the extent that that issue gets muddied up, it -- you know, it confuses people. And so, the clarity helps people get back to the real issue we face.
People say it's a struggle of civilizations. I strongly disagree with that. I think this is a struggle for civilization. And to the sense that the Pope clarified the issue, I think it helps -- help those of us who are trying to make it clear to the Muslim world in particular -- we're not fighting Islam. We're protecting ourselves and trying to help you protect yourself against people who -- who kill in the name of religion to achieve a political objective.
BLITZER: This interview is being seen on CNN and CNN International around the world. There has been some concern -- a lot of concern in the Muslim world -- and your addressing Muslims and the Arab world a lot lately -- that your use of the phrase "Islamic fascists" is sort of pejorative and it makes Muslims seem to be fascists. You have an opportunity right now to address the Muslim world and the Arab world here on CNN.
BUSH: Well, thank you. I...
BLITZER: Tell them what you -- what you mean, what's in your heart.
BUSH: What's in my heart is that Islam is a great religion and a peaceful religion. I fully believe that most people that live in the Muslim world -- by far the vast majority -- want peace. And they want their children to grow up in a hopeful society.
There are people in your midst who want to kill innocent people to create fear and terror so that they can achieve their objective of extremist caliphate. And the goal of America is to protect ourselves. But the goal of America is also to stand with moderates and reformers who long for the same thing we want, which is peace.
BLITZER: Was it a mistake to use that phrase, "Islamic fascists"?
BUSH: That's what I'm referring to. I'm referring to extremists and radicals, totalitarians. The point I was making is these people share a common ideology that represses women, doesn't give people the right to dissent, that has got their narrow view of the freedom of religion. I don't believe these people represent the true spirit of Islam.
BLITZER: Mr. President, thanks very much.
BUSH: Yes, sir. A pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: And you can see the entire exclusive interview with President Bush, including his tough comments on al Qaeda and Iran. All that coming up in the 7:00 p.m. Eastern Hour right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. And that will kick of a CNN primetime lineup jam- packed with big interviews. |
