Posted on 01/13/2007 11:15:33 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
The president concedes that his decisions have led to more instability in Iraq. President Bush made the admission in an exclusive interview with Scott Pelley at Camp David yesterday (12), his first interview since addressing the nation about Iraq. It will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Jan. 14 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
The president says the current sectarian violence in Iraq, is a destabilizing factor that "could lead to attacks here in America" and must be controlled. He defended his decision to invade Iraq in the same way, saying Saddam was competing with Iran to get a nuclear weapon and making the region unstable. But when pressed by Pelley, Bush concedes that conditions in Iraq are much worse now.
Pelley: But wasn't it your administration that created the instability in Iraq? Bush: "Our administration took care of a source of instability in Iraq. Envision a world in which Saddam Hussein was rushing for a nuclear weapon to compete against Iran... He was a significant source of instability. Pelley: It's much more unstable now, Mr. President. Bush: Well, no question, decisions have made things unstable.
"I think history is going to look back and see a lot of ways we could have done things better. No question about it," says Bush.
Toppling Saddam was not a mistake, however. "My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the correct decision in my judgment. We didn't find the weapons we thought we would find or the weapons everybody thought he had. But he was a significant source of instability," Bush tells Pelley. "We liberated that country from a tyrant. I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude and I believe most Iraqi's express that."
The execution of Saddam was mishandled, says the president, who saw only parts of it on the Internet because he didn't want to watch the dictator fall through the trap door. "I thought it was discouraging... It's important that that chapter of Iraqi history be closed. [But] They could have handled it a lot better."
Because, regardless of whether it's true or not, it's widely agreed upon that the Powell presentation at the UN was little more than dissembling and fabrication. So, if anything, the administration would rather everyone forget about that and about WMDs and focus on Saddam's tyranny, etc.
If he can't control his mea culpas, someone should get the hook and pull him out of these "personal" interviews. They are always a trap.
And Bush's advisors are seriously deranged.
At this rate, we WILL get a woman president if GW doesn't pull himself together and get back in command of himself.
Leni
Are you referring to 9/11 or the Iraq war, or maybe both?
oops! Thanks for catching that. Wall Street analysts are entire UNCONCERNED about the deficit.
It's here.
Pelley: It's much more unstable now, Mr. President.
Bush: Well, no question, decisions have made things unstable.
And it feeds right into the hands of the liberal MSM causing more damage.
Thanks to another freeper pointing out something --
Let me repeat: Wall Street analysts are largely UNCONCERNED about the deficit. As compared to GDP, it's at nearly historic lows.
I think you are very generous.
When, oh, when are Freepers (especially the new "hair trigger" version) going to learn to WAIT until they see for themselves?
We're being PLAYED for ratings.
I disagree. That is the type of mindset that is HELPING the Dems. Do you think 130,000-500,000 would be able function in Iraq if the vast majority of the population did not want us there. All Sisitani would have to do is order a few million Shiites in the streets & that would be that. Most Iraqis want the United States in Iraq to HELP THEM. However, we have little resolve & you can't blame them for sitting on the fence.
Bush needs new PR people. I nominate you. And a half dozen other freepers :-)
New Tone Meets Tone Deaf
Poor hapless Bush is not media savvy, and that has been one of his major shortcomings.
Like President Ford, one of the most gifted athetes portrayed as a klutz by the media, Bush is our only MBA, Harvard at that, who ever served as President, yet he is an incompetent moron as depicted by the media.
How difficult is it for Bush to avoid dumb soundbites when interviewing with the bottom-feeder CBS?
Is he really that naive?
I just don't understand his inability to fight back at the media.
The terrorists didn't celebrate the dem gains for nothing; Just like Iran didn't let the hostages go (after 444 days under Carter), when Reagan swore in for nothing.
Must've been Bush's fault that the Kurds got gassed and shias (as well as Sunnies), got slaughtered before we got there (my bad, I forgot, CNN wanted to keep their office there so they didn't report it). I guess Bush also told how he was responsible for all the attacks through the nineties, our embassies, the Cole, burning still going on in France, the London Tube bombings, Indonesia, Spain, India, the Phillipines, Bosnia (still have troops there), Germany (yep, still troops there too), Denmark, Turkey, the Aussies and Sweden.
If the press did it's job showing the global war on terror, instead of a body count only in Iraq 24/7 and the pushing the democrat agenda, people would know what we're up against. Were we responsible for all the children killed in Beslan? That's what we will see here if people don't wake up and realize jihadis are here and more are being groomed here in the states. The media didn't show the Arabs in NJ not long after 9-11 scoping out the school that were caught, the ones under the Brooklyn Bridge, the two ME 'men' who got on a children's school bus in Florida, covered up the OK bombing and subsequent incidents in CA univ,, U Michigan, Georgia Tech.
They're more concerned with PC and CAIR, instead of the hill kicking mini-Hamas out of our country.
Now I see how the holocaust happened... I can't believe this country has become so blind and stupid. Thank goodness for second amendment rights. What the Sam Hill happened to my country?
The media more concerned on the latest star adoption or lack of panties and Donald v. Rosie... when there are terrorists coming across our border, still getting drivers licenses, own trucking companies, and still coming to our universities (now that's Bush's fault). I'm in NYC, do you know how many mexican muslims are here? And this is the northeast. Do you know the establishment of shariah courts is happening in Canada and England? Have you read the "Years Plan for the US" on the CAIR site?
Yes. And why Bush doesn't actually come out and say those things boggles my mind. All he has to say is
Saddam had ample opportunity to hide those weapons, we have found planes buried in the sand and we may never know what was there or not there. But we do know that he had WMDs because he used them on his own people and we found them, - we just have not found large caches. etc
He doesn't say "my decisions" and he could very well mean decisions by the Iraqi government or something else.
I was referring to the attack on Iraq, although I think Bush has some responsibility for the lax immigration enforcement which gave the suicide bombers a launching point from American soil along with the innocent Iraqi civilians that died as well as the 3000 Americans sent to fight.
I think you sound like a typical cut and run weenie who thinks that 3,000 deaths is too many. After three years of war, you're sounding like you'd like us to leave. So glad you weren't around during WWII.
The History Channel has a weekly show called Military Blunders in History. Most of those shows detail what was done wrong by the allies during WWII. We'd be speaking German by now if folks like you were around then.
It's called WAR. It's not a boardgame. Mistakes are always made in war. The situation keeps changing. That is why we have generals to give advice.
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