Bush Warns Of New Attack
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday he was disappointed in “flawed intelligence” before the Iraq war and was concerned that if a Democrat wins the presidency in November and withdrew troops prematurely it could “eventually lead to another attack on the United States.”
In an interview with Politico magazine and Yahoo News, Bush also said he gave up golf in 2003 out of respect for U.S. soldiers killed in the war, which has now lasted more than five years.
“I didn’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”
Bush said he made his decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.
A question submitted from the online audience asked Bush whether he felt he had been misled about Iraq as he made the decision to go to war.
“`Misled’ is a strong word,” he said. “Not only our intelligence community, but intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was.”
“Do I think somebody lied to me? No, I don’t. I think it was just, you know, they analyzed the situation and came up with the wrong conclusion,” he added.
He acknowledged concerns about leaving the unfinished Iraq war to a Democratic successor. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have said they will bring troops home if elected.
Bush said his “doomsday scenario of course is that extremists throughout the Middle East would be emboldened, which would eventually lead to another attack on the United States.”
Also in the interview to an online audience, Bush:
- Said more is known about global warming than when he first took office in 2001. Asked if it was real, Bush said, “Yes, it is real, sure is.” Still, he defended his opposition to the Kyoto treaty on climate change. “I could have supported a lousy treaty and everybody would have went, `Oh, man, what a wonderful-sounding fellow he is. But it just wouldn’t have worked.”
- Criticized the Democratic-led Congress, claiming it had dragged its feet on trade, on renewing surveillance powers and failing to respond appropriately to the housing crisis. “And so I would call them stalled. I would call them, so far, good at verbiage and not so good at results.”
- Said his Christian faith increased while in office, saying he sought to understand his weaknesses, better himself “and get closer to the Lord.”
- Criticized former President Carter for advocating what he called a “blame-Israel-for-every-problem” mentality to the Middle East.
- Said he sympathized with the two candidates in the long-running Democratic primary race. “I feel like this primary has been a long, hard campaign. I remember what it was like in 2000, and I was exhausted. And my primary ended pretty quickly, compared to this one. And so I — both those candidates have got to be just worn out. They haven’t had time to get their feet on the ground or rest.”
- Said he was not concerned about an ugly conversation about race if Obama wins the Democratic nomination. “I think most Americans are open-minded people, and they’re going to pick the president who can keep America safe and keep taxes low. And so I think — my own judgment is, is that race will only enter in if it’s provoked by the press.”
- Said he would return to using e-mail after he leaves office, saying he gave it up to avoid leaks. He said he looks forward to “e-mailing to my buddies. I can remember as governor I stayed in touch with all kinds of people around the country, firing off e-mails at all times of the day to stay in touch with my pals.”
(AP)
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Wow now I can see why the left hates the very mention of his name.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:17 pmSay what you will about his policies, there is no getting around the fact that George Bush is a good man
May 13th, 2008 at 4:54 pmWow reading this article opened my eyes to what a evil Nazi fascist dictator Bush is.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pmAre either of you in the Military?
May 13th, 2008 at 5:21 pmHe seems pretty normal and content.
BUT
“`Misled’ is a strong word,” he said. “Not only our intelligence community, but intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was.”
“Do I think somebody lied to me? No, I don’t. I think it was just, you know, they analyzed the situation and came up with the wrong conclusion,” he added.
There are obvious flaws with these two statements, and the diference is that a leftist would blame the RIGHT.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
littlefox
May 13th, 2008 at 10:31 pmI’m the son of a colonel and brother of a general (both ret).
Our commander in chief is a fine man who except for trying to slip the immigration reform deal in on us, has been nothing less than a steadfast rock on the war that I support.
I hope you caught that I was being facetious above.
I’m sure Rob’s saying the same.
How bout you?
I have not served in the military. I thank God for those who have and I try to serve them.
As for Bush, my instincts like him. I do believe “The first casualty of war is the truth” (sorry forgot who said it)
I TRY not to concern myself with matters out of my control.
I have a hard time living with the fact that 17/18 veterans commit suicide each day. I am working on changing that, do you want to help me, help them?
May 14th, 2008 at 6:57 am
littlefox
May 14th, 2008 at 8:24 pmI do not understand that and am not sure it’s true. Defending the truth about Islam’s bent toward enslaving every part of the world that they can is a costly endeavor indeed and this is a fight that we need to win. I cannot count the times I’ve
gone to sleep in the past 5 years wishing I were young enough to enlist. This is not a game and the faint of heart should not take it lightly. I fear for our nation and pray that God does not turn his face away.
What part of what I’ve said do you not understand?
I’m sorry I am not making myself clear. I agree with you.
By the way, I googled you (I like to know who I am chatting with) I read your comments on The Jesus Myth. I too have met Jesus. He delivered me from the death grip of alcoholism on June 16, 1991. I haven’t desired a drink since. That does not mean I am “anti-alcohol”.(My Motto: The more you drink the better I look :beer:)Besides that my husband recently took early retirement from 30 years of selling Budweiser all over the globe. His last 10 years his customer was the US Military.
Back to the conversation at hand: Please keep defending the truth and your faith. It is a gift you know and you’ve got it! The leftist and especially the atheist wear me out with their angry, arrogant pride.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:18 am