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 Support The DrudgeReport; Visit Our Advertisers  Bush --'I'm the guy making history' Sun Aug 29 2004 10:25:35 ET INTERVIEW: George W. Bush ON INTELLIGENCE REFORM: �Obviously, all of us that now look at intelligence say, Let�s make sure that the analyst who came up with that information has gotten additional input� --- ON WAR ON TERROR: �I think it is a long-lasting ideological struggle� I�m Not the Historian. I�m The Guy Making History� --- ON IRAQ: �Had we had to do it over again, we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success�being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in escaped and lived to fight another day� --- ON SADDAM: �Do I pray for him? No, I haven�t.... Maybe I will [pray for Saddam], now that you�ve asked the question." --- ON WHAT HE�S LEARNED: �Washington is a much more bitter, ugly place, dominated by special interests, than I ever envisioned. I was surprised� New York � When asked about his thinking when it turned out that there were no WMD stockpiles in Iraq, Bush tells TIME, �As you go forward, how do you deal with the threats that face the country? Yes, it�s to make sure that [you have] the ability to analyze information in a way that can look at all sides, to make sure that all opinions end up in the end product [presented] to the decision makers. That�s really what we�re talking about when it comes to intelligence reform.� Bush agrees that he now finds himself asking a second set of questions on the intelligence that he might not have asked before. �Yes, obviously, all of us that now look at intelligence say, Let�s make sure that the analyst who came up with that information has gotten additional input. We�ve just got to make sure that as we connect the dots, everybody�s voices are heard.� Bush thinks the war on terrorism, �is a long-lasting ideological struggle� and that �it ought to be called the struggle of a totalitarian point of view that uses terror as a tool to intimidate the free.� He reflects on his role in the war on terrorism, �I�m not the historian. I�m the guy making history.� �I�m a two-month man right now. [Laughter.] I don�t know. We�re dealing in a part of the world where our policy was, O.K., we�ll kind of tolerate the lack of liberty for other reasons and just hope it gets better. And sure enough, it didn�t.� TIME's exclusive interview with the President at his Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas with TIME�s John F. Dickerson and Nancy Gibbs is featured in this week's Republican Convention preview issue. The coverline is "The World According to George Bush." The lead story, "Inside the Mind of George Bush," concludes his task is to show "his strength comes from not a six-gun temperament but from judgment that has matured through three years of hard testing.� TIME assesses Bush�s character and presidency �By Bush�s math, you can change your tactics, but you pay a price for changing your principles, and can gain capital by toughing out a fight even if you lose,� Dickerson and Gibbs write. At a press conference last April, Dickerson asked Bush what he thought was his biggest mistake and the President didn�t have an answer then. Bush responds to the same question in this TIME interview, �When you asked that question, I was convinced you were trying to force me to say it was a mistake to go into Iraq, which I wasn�t going to do. As sure as I�m sitting here, the right decision was to remove Saddam Hussein from power. The tactics going into Iraq were based upon a certain set of assumptions, like refugee flows, hunger, oil destruction. Had we had to do it over again, we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success�being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in escaped and lived to fight another day. I couldn�t have sat down and said to you, By the way, we�re going to be so victorious so quickly that we�ll end up having to fight another third of the Baathists over the next year in order to bring liberty to the country. There�s an idea that you can chew on. � �Maybe I will [pray for Saddam], now that you�ve asked the question,� President George W. Bush tells TIME, �Do I pray for him? No, I haven�t.� And on his thoughts on Iraq�s progress toward democracy, Bush tells TIME, �If the United States is willing to lead and never waver in our belief that liberty can change the habits of people, never blink, be kind and compassionate, generous with our money�which we are�but resolute in our belief in liberty, Iraq will end up being a free country. It doesn�t have to look like America, by the way. That�s one of the great myths�that all of a sudden, these countries must look like America. Quite the contrary.� On what the most important thing is that he�s learned from the past four years, Bush says, �I�ve learned I really enjoy the job. I�ve enjoyed doing it, to the point where I�d like to do it again. I�ve also learned that Washington is a much more bitter, ugly place, dominated by special interests, than I ever envisioned.� When asked whether there is anything in John Kerry�s Vietnam career that he thinks is relevant to this race, Bush tells TIME, �His service was honorable, as far as I�m concerned. This debate ought to be about who can lead the war on terror. And that�s where I�ll conduct it. I can understand why Senator Kerry is upset with us. I wasn�t so pleased with the ads that were run about me. And my call is get rid of them all, now.� Developing... |
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