David Frost Interview with President

In the first part of an interview with the BBC's Sir David Frost, President George Bush discusses the hopes for his upcoming trip to Britain, his continued support for Prime Minister Tony Blair and the lingering questions surrounding the threat posed by Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction program.

SIR DAVID FROST: I met with President George W. Bush in the Map Room here at the White House for an interview on the eve of his historic visit to the U.K; his historic state visit, the first by an American president for more than 80 years. There was much else to discuss, of course, as well as the visit.

Looking Forward to London SIR DAVID FROST: Mr. President, a lot of people say this might be your first trip to London, but it's not.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: No, it's not. I've been there a couple of times. I remember Laura and I went to see "Cats" in London. Gosh, I remember going to some nice pubs -- when I was drinking man - in London. It's a great city, and I'm looking forward to going.

SIR DAVID FROST: Well, we're looking forward to see you there, too. In fact, of course, you're famous for the fact that normally social - dressing up socially is not your favorite thing, and you once said that marvelous quote, "Read my lips; no new tuxes."

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I'm going to take a tux, and I'm going to take a - tails. And I - don't tell anybody, but I had to rent them.

PRESIDENT BUSH: (Chuckles) - I'm looking forward to it. It's a huge honor to be invited by Her Majesty to stay in Buckingham Palace. It's hard to imagine me even considering staying in Buckingham Palace when I was living in Midland, Texas.

SIR DAVID FROST: What would you like to see come out of this trip in terms of - in addition to the fun part?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I've got some business to do with Tony Blair. We've got a lot of things to discuss. We're going to talk about how to continue to spread freedom and peace, we'll talk about how to work the compassion agenda on the AIDS Initiative, for example. There's been some time talking about that. I value his advice, and I - every time I visit with him, whether it be on phone or on video, or in person, I come away with a - you know, he's got some interesting ideas about how to advance a positive agenda. Secondly, I look forward to speaking to the people of your great country. I have a chance to give a speech, to talk about the importance of our relationship - the unique relationship between America and Great Britain - and I'll have a chance to answer some questions, I'm certain, from the - from what we call the Fourth Estate here, the mighty media, and I look forward to it.

Praising Britain's Leader SIR DAVID FROST: And Tony Blair, on Monday night - and he will probably have told you he's expecting there to be quite a lot of protesters about the war. What would - what would be your message to those protesters?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, freedom is a beautiful thing, I would first say, and it's - aren't you lucky to be in a country that encourages people to speak their mind? And I value going to a country where people are free to say anything they want to say.

Secondly, I would say that I understand you don't like war, and neither do I. But I would hope you understand that I have learned the lessons of September the 11th, 2001, and that terrorists declared war on the United States of America and war on people that love freedom, and I intend to lead our nation - along with others, like our close friends in Great Britain - to win this war on terror; that war is my last choice, not my first choice, but I have obligation as the president to keep our country secure.

SIR DAVID FROST: And at the same time, you'll be working with Tony Blair. And what is the key to your working together so well? I mean, it's like you have a special relationship. Is partially the bond the bond of - that you're both men of strong faith?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I think so. Tony is a man of strong faith. You know, the key to my relationship with Tony is he tells the truth and he tells you what he thinks. And when he says he's going to do something, he's going to do it. I trust him, therefore. I have seen him -- under some tough, tough circumstances -- stand strong, and I appreciate that in a person. The other thing I admire about Tony Blair is that he has got a vision beyond the current; in other words, he can see a world that is peaceful. And he agrees with me that the spread of democracy and freedom in parts of the world where there's violence and hatred will help change the world, that there are reformers in the Middle East that long for democracy, that long to live in a free world. And Tony Blair, like me, agrees - you know, kind of rejects the elitist point of view that only a certain type of person can adapt to habits of freedom and democracy, and he knows that freedom in the Middle East will help change that world in dramatic fashion.

Speaking to International Opponents SIR DAVID FROST: And in terms - as you look at the world, Mr. President, at the moment, and you see that the protesters in Australia or wherever they are, and you see that poll that came out in the EU - poll the other day that showed that the United States was second among the most dangerous countries in terms of war in the world, level, for God's sake, with North Korea and Iran. When you see things like that, do you think the world is out of step with America or America is out of step with the world?

PRESIDENT BUSH: (Chuckles.) Well, first of all, you have got to know I don't pay attention to polls. I just don't. I have got a job to do for the American people. It's a job that was changed on September the 11th, 2001, and I refuse to - I refuse to forget the - I will never forget the lesson, is a better way to put it, of what happened to this country. And there are terrorists who are willing to kill innocent life in order to create fear and chaos. There are terrorists who want the free world to retreat from duties so that they can impose Taliban-type governments and enslave people. There are people like Saddam Hussein, who tortured and maimed and killed, and at the same time threatened and created conditions of instability. And I know some people don't understand the need to deal with that, but I feel firmly we must deal with those issues.

SIR DAVID FROST: But do you need to woo people more in the rest of the world, do you think?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, we wooed. We did a pretty good job of wooing them at the United Nations. After all, remember 1441 was a unanimous vote that said after a decade of sending messages to Mr. Saddam Hussein for him to disarm - 1441 said disarm or there will be serious consequences, and that was a unanimous vote; in other words, the world, at least on the Security Council, came together and sent a clear signal.

Obviously, there was a disagreement about the definition of serious consequence, but I can assure you serious consequence isn't more resolutions or more debate. Serious consequence was with dealing with Mr. Saddam Hussein today, before it became too late. And I understand people don't agree with that position, but nevertheless I am convinced that the decisions we made - and there's a lot of countries that made that decision with us - that decision will make the world more peaceful and more free.

PRESIDENT BUSH: That decision is in the long-term interest of people who love freedom.

SIR DAVID FROST: And will you ever be able to forgive Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder for their actions at that time in undermining the second resolution?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Of course. It's like I can understand why people express, you know, their disagreement with the policy. I understand not everybody is going to agree with every decision that I make or others make. But I have had meetings with Gerhard Schroeder and Jacques Chirac since then. They have been very cordial meetings. Gerhard Schroeder has now committed German troops to Afghanistan, which is a very important mission, to help stabilize that good country as it not only enacts a Constitution but heads toward elections, and I appreciate the contribution of the German government toward Afghanistan. I'm proud to say that it is a - it is a vital contribution, and I appreciate their willingness to work with us. Again, we're not going to agree on every issue, but a Europe which works closely with America and an America which works closely with Europe means the world will be better off.

The Lingering Issue of Weapons of Mass Destruction SIR DAVID FROST: Tell me about - in terms of Iraq, tell me about weapons of mass destruction. The fact that we didn't find them and so on has been much discussed, but do you think that you were the victim of a failure of intelligence in a way?

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, not at all. I think our intelligence was sound and I know the British intelligence was sound. It's the same intelligence that caused the United Nations to pass resolution after resolution after resolution. It's the same intelligence that was used by my predecessor to bomb Iraq. And I'm very confident that we got good intelligence. And not only that, Mr. David Kay, who went over to kind of lead the effort to find the weapons or the intent of weapons, came back with a report that clearly stated that Mr. Saddam Hussein had been in material breach of resolution 1441; in other words, had the inspectors found what Kay found, they would have reported back to the United Nations that he was in breach, that he was in violation of exactly what the United Nations expected him not to do.

We will find - you know, we will get to find the truth, but this guy for many years had been hiding weapons, deceiving weapons. He had dual-use programs that could have been sped up. Nobody could say that Saddam Hussein wasn't a danger. I mean, not only was he a danger to the free world - I mean, and that's what the world said. The world said it consistently.

PRESIDENT BUSH: And he's a danger to his own people as well. Remember, we discovered mass graves with hundreds of thousands of men and women, and children, clutching their little toys, as a result of this person's brutality.

SIR DAVID FROST: Did you ever believe that stuff about him having weapons of mass destruction that could be unleashed in 45 minutes, or did you never really believe that?

PRESIDENT BUSH: And - well, I believed a lot of things, but I know he was a dangerous man, and I know that for the sake of security he needed to be dealt with. After all -- again, I repeat this because it's a very important point that people in your country must remember, and that is the world has spoken - universally spoken - about this man's danger for 12 long years, and in order for - at the very minimum, in order for a multinational organization to be valid and effective, something has to happen other than resolutions. And when an organization says if you don't disarm - in other words, in order to say they don't disarm, intelligence convinced a lot of nations, including France, that he had weapons; in other words, he had to disarm something. Dismantle your programs. If you don't do that, there will be a serious consequence.

And the fundamental question is what is a serious consequence? It's not another resolution. It's not more empty debate. A serious consequence, in this case, was removing Saddam Hussein so those weapons programs would not be activated. And David Kay found evidence of weapons programs. He found some biological weapons - evidence of biological weapons. And it doesn't take much time; it doesn't even take much -

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, that's pretty big, what I just told you. Now remember, for a long period of time, it was assumed that he didn't have a nuclear weapons program, and yet, after 1991, the world had to change its attitude about this man's nuclear weapons program and admitted that it was very advanced. A nuclear weapon in the hands of somebody like Saddam Hussein, particularly given the lessons of September the 11th, 2001, would be a horrendous development. And we had to deal with him, and we did in a way, by the way, that was a compassionate way. We spared innocent life, we targeted the guilty, and we moved hard and fast, and very little of Iraq was touched in toppling Saddam Hussein.

You know, the key to my relationship with Tony is he tells the truth and he tells you what he thinks. And when he says he's going to do something, he's going to do it. I trust him, therefore. I have seen him -- under some tough, tough circumstances -- stand strong, and I appreciate that in a person.

Unlike certain Senate minority leaders, other 'rats, and most members of the media who would rather climb up a tree to lie than stay on the ground and tell the truth.

I think our intelligence was sound and I know the British intelligence was sound. It's the same intelligence that caused the United Nations to pass resolution after resolution after resolution. It's the same intelligence that was used by my predecessor to bomb Iraq. And I'm very confident that we got good intelligence. And not only that, Mr. David Kay, who went over to kind of lead the effort to find the weapons or the intent of weapons, came back with a report that clearly stated that Mr. Saddam Hussein had been in material breach of resolution 1441; in other words, had the inspectors found what Kay found, they would have reported back to the United Nations that he was in breach, that he was in violation of exactly what the United Nations expected him not to do.

Can't get much plainer than that!

"GW Is not a headline grabber like BC was. What I find admirable about the man is his sincere humbleness, the fact that he will clear the briars in order to plant for the future and never whine when the thorns bite."

. . . your metaphor captures GWB's character precisely (and your pix, well what can I say about the pix -- Lawgirl, I need your fan!).

I have never been so proud to be an american. Ronnie made me proud. GW makes me proud as well...despite the faltering vocabulary the message is clear.

I wish in my heart I wasnt so old that I couldnt serve this president and his ideals.

He has been smitten by the charm, intelligence and decency of our President.

One cannot believe the leftist lies about President Bush after meeting him. I'm praying that the truth will be obvious to the British public when they see who he really is..........

You may be right .. I remember when Bob Woodward was allowed access to the WH to write his book. After meeting and being with the President for weeks on end, Bob had a totally new opinion about him. I remember when Bush made the statement, "Bring 'em on". Bob Woodward was on Larry King promoting his book, and Larry ask Bob what he thought of the statement. Bob threw back his head and gave a little laugh and then he said, "that's Bush". It totally shut Larry up. It was so funny.

And .. thanks for the pictures today - I got to see a few on the TV today .. but nobody seemed to be carrying it live .. or maybe I just missed that part. I was cleaning house and doing laundry. Still trying to get rid of all the soot and smokey smell from the fires.

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