[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
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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.