    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [November 6, 2007]
    [Pages 1439-1444]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With RTL Television and N-TV of Germany
    November 6, 2007

    Chancellor Angela Merkel's Visit to the Bush
    Ranch

        Q. Mr. President, in a couple of days, the German Chancellor, Angela
    Merkel, will come to your ranch, which I think is a special privilege.
    What will you do with her on the ranch on a weekend like that?
        The President. Well, we will--if she wants--we'll do anything she
    wants. If she wants to go for a hike, I'll go for a hike. If she--I look
    forward to showing a piece of property I dearly love. But we'll have
    plenty of time to visit in a different setting. It's not very formal,
    but it will be conducive to a conversation amongst friends. I can't
    thank her enough for coming down there.

    Germany/United Nations Security Council

        Q. She had said some weeks ago at the United Nations that Germany
    wants to contribute more to the world and take on more responsibility by
    perhaps getting a permanent seat in the Security Council. Will you
    support her in that?
        The President. Well, I made my clear statement there at the U.N.
    that I'm for overall reform, and I do believe we ought to look at
    reforming the Security Council in a way that, you know, accomplishes
    some missions. And Germany clearly is an important country. I have not
    taken a stand on any specific country, except for Japan, and won't. But
    clearly, Germany is a very important country for a lot of reasons.
        Q. Not a permanent member in the Security Council, you don't see her
    like that? You don't see Germany as----
        The President. Well, I haven't made that endorsement one way or the
    other. And I pretty well kept my counsel. I just want to make sure the
    U.N. is functioning well, that it does--it needs a big-time reform, and
    so does the Security Council. And so we're open to ideas. It's not easy
    to get done. And the only one country that I've

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    endorsed has been Japan. And it's been a longstanding policy of the
    Government of the United States, and I continue that policy.

    Germany-U.S. Relations

        Q. What are the topics that you will be talking to her where you
    might need Germany to help you, the United States?
        The President. Oh, me personally?
        Q. No, not personally. I mean--personally, as well, but----
        The President. No, but we definitely need Germany's help on issues
    like Iran so that we can, you know, solve this issue diplomatically. We
    need Germany's help on issues like Darfur. Germany is a crucial country
    in terms of, you know, building coalitions to deal with the threats we
    face. We need Germany's participation in Afghanistan. I know
    Angela went over there; I'm looking forward to
    hearing her report. And I'm pleased with our relationship.

    Germany's Role in Afghanistan

        Q. Germany doesn't want to contribute any forces to the south of
    Afghanistan, where it's really getting a little bit hotter than up in
    the north, where the Germans are right now. Are you having a problem
    with that?
        The President. No, I understand. I mean, you know, people--
    everybody's parliaments or legislative bodies reacts to the challenges
    differently. I'm just so pleased that Germany is contributing forces
    there to help this Afghan democracy. These contributions are meaningful,
    and some countries are able to take on different assignments. And I
    fully understand that. And I'm not going to try to put Angela
    Merkel in a position that she nor her
    Bundestag is comfortable with.

    Iran/Iraq

        Q. You just mentioned Iran. Do you think that the nuclear threat
    that Iran poses right now is larger than the threat Iraq posed about 5
    or 6 years ago?
        The President. I think they were both dangerous. I think both of
    them could have been solved diplomatically. Saddam Hussein chose to
    ignore the demands of the free world and Security Council 1441, which,
    by the way, Germany voted for initially. And I think they're both
    dangerous. And I think, therefore, the lesson of Iraq is that we can
    work together and solve questions peacefully now.
        And hopefully, we can--and hopefully, we can keep pressure on the
    Iranians to say, one, we respect your people; two, we respect your
    history; but your Government is making decisions that are isolating your
    country. And all they've got to do is suspend their enrichment program,
    and then there will be a dialog and a way forward. But it's up to the
    Government to make their choice.

    Iran

        Q. But you still have as a last option the military option. Do you
    think that that could be an option in the future? You even mentioned the
    possibility, the chance of third world war. You were serious about that?
        The President. Oh, absolutely serious. I said, if you want to avoid
    world war III; I didn't say, I'm for world war III.
        Q. Oh, no, I didn't say that. But you mentioned it in that respect,
    yes.
        The President. But I said, if you--the reason I said that is because
    this is a country that has defied the IAEA--in other words, didn't
    disclose all their program--have said they want to destroy Israel. If
    you want to see world war III, you know, a way to do that is to attack
    Israel with a nuclear weapon. And so I said, now is the time to move. It
    wasn't a prediction nor a desire.
        And do I think we can solve it? I do. Should all options be on the
    table? You bet. But I firmly believe we can solve this problem
    diplomatically and will continue to work to do so. And that's going to
    be an important topic with the Chancellor.

    [[Page 1441]]

        Q. Do you think there's a point where you'd say, only a military
    option is a possibility for us?
        The President. I would never say that. I would say that we would
    always try to try diplomacy first. In other words, I--I've committed our
    troops into harm's way twice, and it's not a pleasant experience because
    I understand the consequences firsthand. And so I owe it to the American
    people to say that I've tried to solve this problem diplomatically. And
    that's exactly what I intend to do. And I believe we can do it, so long
    as the world works in concert. And Chancellor Merkel understands the dangers, and she wants to solve this
    issue peacefully.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Q. The U.S. has imposed some harsh sanctions on some parts of the
    Iranian Government.
        The President. Yes.
        Q. The Russians were pretty much against that. Do we see a new rift
    growing between Russia, on the one hand, and the United States, on the
    other hand?
        The President. No, I don't think so. I mean, look, there's going to
    be--there's places where we disagree. No, it's a complicated
    relationship with Russia.
        Q. Why that?
        The President. Why is it? Just because we've got a history. It's not
    easy to eradicate history overnight. You might remember, we were quite
    antagonistic to each other for years. And so I've tried to work hard
    with Vladimir Putin to put the cold war
    behind us and focus on a positive future. There are still suspicions
    about U.S. intentions inside the Russian system.
        You know, for example, as you know, I'm a big advocate of democracy.
    I believe democracies enhance peace, and I think that some view the
    democracy movement as a way to surround Russia. I try to work hard with
    Vladimir Putin and make it clear to him
    that this is nothing more than spreading peace. They didn't particularly
    care for the expansion of NATO, which I'm a strong believer in.
        And so we've had our friction, but, no, I wouldn't----
        Q. And when you see him now testing new missiles or testing new
    bombs, is that flexing muscle, or is that just showing off? Or do you
    think it's serious?
        The President. I don't view that as a threat. I really don't view
    Russia as a threat, a military threat. I don't think--I'm pretty
    confident President Putin does not want to
    have any military conflict. I think the bigger threat is the use of
    energy, which is really a direct problem for the EU.
        As I say, I try not to have antagonistic relations with President
    Putin. We've got a good personal
    relationship. We don't always agree eye to eye. Kosovo is an area where
    we don't agree eye to eye. But that doesn't--just because you don't have
    a--just because you have a disagreement doesn't mean that you can't work
    together.

    President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia/
    Democracy in Russia

        Q. You will probably see him longer as a, whatever, strong force in
    Russia--[inaudible]--right now.
        The President. Yes. [Laughter]
        Q. Isn't that fascinating? Is that something you would have
    expected, that he would stay in there as a Prime Minister, then? But he
    is not voted in yet, but it might happen.
        The President. I know. I haven't had a really good chance to sit
    down and talk with him about his ambitions and plans. He did tell me
    that he wasn't going to run for President again. But clearly, he likes
    to be influential inside the Russian system, and I don't know what he's
    going to do.
        My hope, of course, is, I've tried to work with him as best as I can
    to understand the checks and balances. And democracy requires a certain
    balance in society. And I would hope that he would make decisions

    [[Page 1442]]

    that enhanced institutional reform, enhanced the institutions necessary
    for a free society. As I say, sometimes he listens, sometimes he
    doesn't.

    President's Agenda

        Q. Almost a day to the date, in 1 year, we will have Presidential
    elections again in the United States. What are your three, let's say,
    main tasks, goals that you have set for yourself for the last 12 months
    of your Presidency?
        The President. Oh, I appreciate that. One is to continue to protect
    our country from harm. I absolutely know for certain there is a group of
    extremists who would like to attack us again. Second--this is all on
    foreign policy initially--work with our friends and allies on Darfur,
    Burma--I'm afraid I'm going to leave something out--Iran. Continue to
    make sure our foreign policy in the Far East focuses not only on North
    Korea--and working, by the way, collaboratively with Japan and China and
    South Korea to deal with North Korea--but also to maintain good,
    constructive relations throughout the region.
        Continue on the HIV/AIDS initiative. One of the really interesting
    initiatives that my wife and I are working on is a malaria initiative.
    There's just too many babies dying on the continent of Africa, for
    example, because of mosquito bites.
        Q. Yes, I've talked to your wife about that.
        The President. Oh, did you? Good. And then at home, keep taxes low
    and keep the economy growing.
        The two big issues, by the way, for this Presidential campaign are
    who can best protect America from attack. Now, I don't know if----

    2008 Presidential Election

        Q. That's what I wanted to ask you next. What will be the three
    tasks for the next President?
        The President. Well, who can keep people--same thing, and who can
    keep taxes low. See, we've got a bunch of people here in America that
    want to raise taxes. I'm, as you know, a tax cutter. I believe the
    private sector is--needs to be enhanced by keeping the size of
    government reasonably in balance and keep taxes low; same thing for the
    next President.
        You know, the biggest issue facing a President going forward will be
    whether or not we can deal with our, you know, our Social Security and
    Medicare, our health care and pension plans for the elderly, because
    like other parts of the world--I presume Germany as well--baby boomers
    relative to people contributing to the system--so you have baby boomers
    like me retiring and not enough young workers. And we need to get the
    systems in balance. And it's very hard to get done because a lot of the
    politicians here in America really don't want to confront the problem
    until it becomes immediate. So I tried for 7 years to get Congress to do
    the hard work. They didn't want to, and so the next President is going
    to have to try to do it.
        Q. Who do you think it's going to be?
        The President. Well, I can't tell you that because--I think it will
    be a Republican; I truly do. I think someone from my party will win,
    but, you know, I'm not going to speculate because the American press, of
    course, would take my speculation, you know, ``Bush is''----
        Q. Of course. But you think it's going to be a Republican?
        The President. I really do, yes. The economy is in pretty good
    shape, and we've got some issues, but the economy is pretty strong,
    which--and the other side does want to raise taxes. And I do believe
    taxes are a big issue in America.
        And then the foreign policy--and if you will listen to the debate,
    our candidates have got a strong, firm view of how to conduct foreign
    policy. And the American people innately understand that there's still
    threats out there. And our biggest job is to protect our--see, that's an
    interesting difference between, say, Germany and

    [[Page 1443]]

    America. We've been attacked. We feel like another attack is coming, and
    therefore, you know, our actions ought to be to protect our country. And
    you know, I'm not so sure that it's that same sense of anxiety in other
    parts of Europe or in Germany.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Q. Well, we have some old fears. I mean, we were on the border of
    the cold war. I mean, we had this Iron Curtain in our country, in that
    respect. We know a little bit about that too. But I can understand your
    position as well, sure.
        The President. You know, look, there's--and one of the things I
    would like to assure the German public about is that I really don't want
    to have increased tensions with Russia. As a matter of fact, I've worked
    hard to create an environment that is not hostile, but----

    Missile Defense System/Russia-U.S. Relations/Iran

        Q. Also with the missile shield----
        The President. That's what I was about to describe, that this is not
    aimed at Russia. I mean, it--and frankly, it's absurd for somebody to
    say it is aimed at Russia, because the number of interceptors that would
    be there--the rockets to knock down the other rocket--will be limited in
    number, and therefore, somebody who has got a handful of rockets can
    overwhelm the system. It's just really aimed at, you know, a rogue
    nation that wants to hold a----
        Q. Like Iran.
        The President. ----hostage. Like Iran, absolutely. And hopefully,
    again, you know, the system becomes moot or not needed by getting the
    Iranians to back off their ambitions.
        And, you know, we did something really interesting with Russia on
    this Iranian issue. The Iranians said, it's our sovereign right to have
    nuclear power. And I said, yes, it is; it is your sovereign right. But
    we can't trust you to enrich because you've been hiding your program
    from international inspectors. And so therefore, we will join--we agree
    with Russia when they said, you can have a plant, and we, Russia, will
    provide you the fuel and collect the fuel, which I strongly support.
        And so--the only reason I bring that up is I know that people think
    that our relations with Russia are, you know, may not be conducive to
    constructive action, but we got--we do--and there's no question, there's
    tensions on some issues.
        Q. Okay.
        The President. But we can work together as well.

    President's Legacy

        Q. Okay. Final question: You will have 1 year in office; how do you
    think you will be remembered as a President?
        The President. I think I'll be remembered as a guy who, you know,
    was dealt some pretty tough issues to deal with, and I dealt with them
    head on, and I didn't try to shy away. I didn't, you know, I didn't
    sacrifice; I was firm, and that I made decisions based upon principles,
    not based upon the latest Gallup Poll. And that I helped this country
    protect itself and, at the same time, was unashamed, unabashed at
    spreading certain values to others, the main one being liberty, whether
    it be the freedom from forms of government or the freedom from disease
    and hunger. And that we had a very robust foreign policy in the name of
    peace.
        And at home, that the cornerstone of my policy is to trust the
    individual American to make the best decisions for his or her family.
    And that I dealt with not only a tax but recession and a lot of other
    challenges to our economy, and yet our economy is very strong. We've had
    50 consecutive months of uninterrupted job growth, which is the longest
    in American history. So you know something--but I'll be dead before they
    finally figure out my administration because history--it takes a while
    to get the true history of an administration.

    [[Page 1444]]

        Q. Okay, first we both see how it's going to be. We might not be
    dead by then. [Laughter]
        The President. I don't think so. I think--listen, they're still
    writing books analyzing George Washington.
        Q. That's very true. That's right. And they come to different
    conclusions in every new book.
        The President. They do. And so therefore, my attitude is, if they're
    analyzing the first President, the 43d President doesn't need to worry
    about it. The key thing that people need to know is, I make up my
    decisions based upon principles, not based upon politics, you know,
    what's good for a political party or trying to be popular. If you chase
    popularity, you can't lead. And popularity is just like--it comes and
    goes. And I've never been one to really worry about that, you know?
    Because when it's all said and done, I think the key thing in life is to
    look in the mirror and say, I didn't compromise my core beliefs. And I
    believe people will say that about me.
        Q. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
        The President. You're welcome. Thanks for coming.

    Note: The interview was taped at 2:33 p.m. in the Map Room at the White
    House for later broadcast. The transcript was released by the Office of
    the Press Secretary on November 7. A tape was not available for
    verification of the content of this interview.