Bush Talks About His Biggest Fear
President Bush spoke exclusively with CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Katie Couric on Wednesday, sharing his thoughts on the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the war on terror, and Iraq. The president also shared some information about previously undisclosed terrorist plots that had been uncovered.
"As you well know, Monday is the fifth anniversary of 9/11. And so many Americans are thinking about that day. And I'm just wondering what your thoughts are as we approach that anniversary," Couric asked the president.
"Well, you know, I make a — I approach it with mixed emotions. I remember the horror. And I remember the, you know, the loss of life. I also remember the lessons. And September the 11th affected my thinking," Mr. Bush replied. "It basically changed my attitude about the world. And I resolved around that time that I would do everything to protect the American people. And it, frankly, has defined much of how I think as the president. And, so, for me, it's not just a moment. You know, it's really been a change of life."
The president also acknowledged that the attacks caused a major shift of his philosophy of the world.
"Well, it reminded me that we're in a major struggle with extremists. You know, when you really think about why would somebody kill 3,000 Americans? And I realized the struggle was more than just defeating an al Qaeda," Mr. Bush said. "It is really an ideological war between extremism and moderation and reasonableness. And it's been a — it was a profound moment. … But it was no more profound than the — the thousands of our citizens who lost a loved one. And so September the 11th is gonna be a sad moment, a day of remembrance and a day of commitment."
"You have said, Mr. President, that America is safer but we are not yet safe," Couric remarked. "When you think about the threats out there, what is your biggest fear?"
"Well, my biggest fear is somebody will come in and slip in this country and kill Americans. And I can't tell you how. Obviously there would be the spectacular. That would be the use of some kind of biological weapon or weapon of mass destruction. But as we learned recently from the British plots, people were, you know, gonna get on airplanes and blow up airplanes with innocent people flying to America," Mr. Bush replied. "And, you know, one way to look at it is we have to be right 100 percent of the time in order to protect this country, and they gotta be right once. And it's just a fact of life. We're facing an enemy, Katie, that just doesn't care about innocent life. I mean, they really are evil people."
Speaking about Iraq, Couric noted that the president considers Iraq the central front in the war against terrorism.
"And I'm wondering, Mr. President, if sometimes in your private moments you feel incredible frustration that this war is not going better. And frustration that public support for it has eroded pretty significantly in recent months," Couric asked.
"Well, first of all, I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden," Mr. Bush replied. "Now, there's been some good moments and some bad moments in Iraq. And there's been some highlights. Twelve million people voting for a government under a modern constitution."
After speaking about the positive developments in Iraq, the president acknowledged that there are negative things that frustrate him in the conflict.
"Starting with the death of innocent people and our soldiers. That's the hardest thing for me," the president said. "I meet with a lot of the families. And I do the best I can to cry with them or, you know, laugh with them if they wanna laugh and hug them. One thing most have said to me is 'Don't leave before this job gets done.' They understand the stakes and so do our soldiers. And the stakes are these: That if we leave before the job is done, an enemy that has attacked us will be emboldened. Allies and moderate people will wonder where America's soul is."
"Does it concern you," Couric asked, "as we walk this corridor and see portraits of people like President Reagan, for whom your dad worked as vice president, some of your father's close colleagues have criticized the war in Iraq or efforts, particularly Brent Scowcroft, his former national security advisor, very publicly saying in 2004, 'Iraq is a failing venture'?"
"Yeah," Mr. Bush said. "Does it bother me? Nah, not really. When you do hard things, people are gonna criticize you. The American people expect me to make decisions based upon principle, to deal with the threats that face our nation — not to worry about criticism. Of course I listen to it. That's part of the job."
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. "As you well know, Monday is the fifth anniversary of 9/11. And so many Americans are thinking about that day. And I'm just wondering what your thoughts are as we approach that anniversary," Couric asked the president.
"Well, you know, I make a — I approach it with mixed emotions. I remember the horror. And I remember the, you know, the loss of life. I also remember the lessons. And September the 11th affected my thinking," Mr. Bush replied. "It basically changed my attitude about the world. And I resolved around that time that I would do everything to protect the American people. And it, frankly, has defined much of how I think as the president. And, so, for me, it's not just a moment. You know, it's really been a change of life."
The president also acknowledged that the attacks caused a major shift of his philosophy of the world.
"Well, it reminded me that we're in a major struggle with extremists. You know, when you really think about why would somebody kill 3,000 Americans? And I realized the struggle was more than just defeating an al Qaeda," Mr. Bush said. "It is really an ideological war between extremism and moderation and reasonableness. And it's been a — it was a profound moment. … But it was no more profound than the — the thousands of our citizens who lost a loved one. And so September the 11th is gonna be a sad moment, a day of remembrance and a day of commitment."
"You have said, Mr. President, that America is safer but we are not yet safe," Couric remarked. "When you think about the threats out there, what is your biggest fear?"
"Well, my biggest fear is somebody will come in and slip in this country and kill Americans. And I can't tell you how. Obviously there would be the spectacular. That would be the use of some kind of biological weapon or weapon of mass destruction. But as we learned recently from the British plots, people were, you know, gonna get on airplanes and blow up airplanes with innocent people flying to America," Mr. Bush replied. "And, you know, one way to look at it is we have to be right 100 percent of the time in order to protect this country, and they gotta be right once. And it's just a fact of life. We're facing an enemy, Katie, that just doesn't care about innocent life. I mean, they really are evil people."
Speaking about Iraq, Couric noted that the president considers Iraq the central front in the war against terrorism.
"And I'm wondering, Mr. President, if sometimes in your private moments you feel incredible frustration that this war is not going better. And frustration that public support for it has eroded pretty significantly in recent months," Couric asked.
"Well, first of all, I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden," Mr. Bush replied. "Now, there's been some good moments and some bad moments in Iraq. And there's been some highlights. Twelve million people voting for a government under a modern constitution."
After speaking about the positive developments in Iraq, the president acknowledged that there are negative things that frustrate him in the conflict.
"Starting with the death of innocent people and our soldiers. That's the hardest thing for me," the president said. "I meet with a lot of the families. And I do the best I can to cry with them or, you know, laugh with them if they wanna laugh and hug them. One thing most have said to me is 'Don't leave before this job gets done.' They understand the stakes and so do our soldiers. And the stakes are these: That if we leave before the job is done, an enemy that has attacked us will be emboldened. Allies and moderate people will wonder where America's soul is."
"Does it concern you," Couric asked, "as we walk this corridor and see portraits of people like President Reagan, for whom your dad worked as vice president, some of your father's close colleagues have criticized the war in Iraq or efforts, particularly Brent Scowcroft, his former national security advisor, very publicly saying in 2004, 'Iraq is a failing venture'?"
"Yeah," Mr. Bush said. "Does it bother me? Nah, not really. When you do hard things, people are gonna criticize you. The American people expect me to make decisions based upon principle, to deal with the threats that face our nation — not to worry about criticism. Of course I listen to it. That's part of the job."
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Katie you need to rethink your position on the B&C terrorists, you could find yourself off the top 100 most powerful women in the country list.
You can admire a man without agreeing with him. Katie has taken more than her share of cheap shots at the President during the past 5 years and I would hardly call her a "a staunch Bush fan." There are so many out there that would have you believe that President Bush has no adirable qualities whatsoever, but I'm telling you they're wrong. You don't get re-elected without admirable qualities. I voted for Clinton twice and Gore in 2000. I certainly would not have counted myself as a staunch Bush fan until the election campaign of 2004. Seeing the alternative in leadership quickly made me a fan. George W. Bush was the best man for the job of protecting this country and he still is. There are many of his policies that make me angry (ie, spending, immigration, etc...), but there is no issue as important to me as National Security.
And she noted the pros and cons of his Texas swagger.
She was going on about Bush's daunting task as president in this time in history.
Has she forgotten that Bush got us into this insanity in the middle east?
I was under the impression that journalists on the network news were supposed to be unbiased in their reporting of the news at hand. From her comments it is clear that she would appear to be a staunch Bush fan.
Remember, Katie, he's responsible for over 2600 dead Americans.
And god knows how many wounded.
Perhaps Fox would be a better venue for you.
Thanks for allowing me to vent while there is still free speech in this country.
I'll continue to watch the local CBS News but from here on in as long as Katie's on the air I'll be watching another channel.
Thank god for Tivo. Now I can show my friends what biased journalism is all about.
If you'd like to respond, please feel free. I may have it all wrong. You could win me back.
thanks,
former Katie supporter