[chiller]

GWB; With the intel we had.....Saddam is a mad man and we can't take the word of a madman when so much is at stake.

[Peach]

Russert: Your admin. said we'd be treated as liberators. What happened.

Bush: I think we are considered that way. Not surprised by the level of resistance because there are people who desperately want to stop the advance of freedom and democracy because that will be a deterrent to terrorism.

The people I have seen are thrilled we are there, but they are nervous because they don't know what their form of government will look like yet. It took us a while in the United States to decide on that too!!

[chiller]

MTP; It's been a year, and we're in a difficult situation.

GWB; I'm not sure about the tone of your question, We ARE welcomed in Iraq. Yes there's nervousness in Iraq because of some uncertainty, but we're making progress. Debate in Iraq is good.

W's handling this just fine, imho. Getting better when discussin future of Iraq, vs. continually answering hit questions from Russert. Better on the offense than defense