[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 47 (Monday, November 24, 2003)]
[Pages 1625-1632]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Sir David Frost of BBC Television

November 12, 2003

President's Upcoming Visit to the United Kingdom

    Q. Mr. President, a lot of people say this might be your first trip 
to London, but it's not.
    The President. No, it's not. I've been there a couple of times. I 
remember, Laura and I went to see ``Cats'' in London. Gosh, I remember 
going to some nice pubs when I was a drinking man in London. It's a 
great city, and I'm looking forward to going.
    Q. We're looking forward to seeing you there, too. In fact, of 
course, you're famous for the fact that normally social--dressing up 
socially is not your favorite thing, and you once said that marvelous 
quote, ``Read my lips: No new tuxes.''
    The President. That's right. [Laughter]
    Q. Are you going to take a new tux this time?
    The President. I'm going to take a tux, and I'm going to take tails. 
And don't tell anybody, but I had to rent them. [Laughter] I'm sure you 
won't tell anybody.
    Q. This is entirely between us.
    The President. I'm looking forward to--it's a huge honor to be 
invited by Her Majesty to stay in Buckingham Palace. It's hard to 
imagine me even considering staying in Buckingham Palace when I was 
living in Midland, Texas. It's just one of those things. And Buckingham 
Palace has got a tremendous mystique to it, and so Laura and I are 
really looking forward to coming.

President's Agenda in the United Kingdom

    Q. And you pinch yourself about those things too. What would you 
like to see come out of this trip in terms of--in addition to the fun 
part?
    The President. Well, I've got some business to do with Tony Blair. 
We've got a lot of things to discuss. We're going to talk about how to 
continue to spread freedom and peace. We'll talk about how to work the 
compassion agenda on the AIDS Initiative, for example. We're going to 
spend some time talking about that.
    I value his advice, and I--every time I visit with him, whether it 
be on the phone or on video or in person, I come away with a--some 
interesting ideas about how to advance a positive agenda.
    Secondly, I look forward to speaking to the people of your great 
country. I'm going to have a chance to give a speech to talk about the 
importance of our relationship, the unique relationship between America 
and Great Britain. And I'll have a chance to answer some questions, I'm 
sure, from what we call the Fourth Estate here, the mighty media. I look 
forward to it.

[[Page 1626]]

Protests/War on Terror

    Q. And Tony Blair on Monday night--and he would probably have told 
you--is expecting there to be quite a lot of protesters about the war. 
What would be your message to those protesters?
    The President. Well, freedom is a beautiful thing, I would first 
say, and aren't you lucky to be in a country that encourages people to 
speak their mind. And I value going to a country where people are free 
to say anything they want to say. Secondly, I would say that I 
understand you don't like war, and neither do I. But I would hope you 
understand that I have learned the lessons of September the 11th, 2001, 
and that terrorists declared war on the United States of America and war 
on people that love freedom, and I intend to lead our Nation, along with 
others like our close friends in Great Britain, to win this war on 
terror, that war is my last choice, not my first choice, but I have an 
obligation as the President to keep our country secure.

Blair-Bush Relationship

    Q. And at the same time, you'll be working with Tony Blair, and what 
is the key to your working together so well? I mean, it's like you have 
a special relationship. Is partially the bond, the bond that you're both 
men of strong faith?
    The President. I think so. Tony is a man of strong faith. You know, 
the key to my relationship with Tony is he tells the truth, and he tells 
you what he thinks, and when he says he's going to do something, he's 
going to do it. I trust him, therefore. I've seen him, under some 
tough--tough circumstances, stand strong, and I appreciate that in a 
person.
    The other thing I admire about Tony Blair is that he's got a vision 
beyond the current. In other words, he can see a world that is peaceful, 
and he agrees with me that the spread of democracy and freedom in parts 
of the world where there's violence and hatred will help change the 
world, that there are reformers in the Middle East that long for 
democracy, that long to live in a free world. And Tony Blair, like me, 
agrees--kind of rejects the elitist point of view that only a certain 
type of person can adapt the habits of freedom and democracy. And he 
knows that freedom in the Middle East will help change that world in 
dramatic fashion. So it's an historic moment which he has been willing 
to seize, and I'm honored to be working with him to seize the moment.

Public Opinion/Lessons of September 11

    Q. And in terms of as you look at the world, Mr. President, at the 
moment and you see the protesters in Australia or wherever they are and 
you see that poll that came out, an EU poll the other day that shows 
that the United States was second among the most dangerous countries in 
terms of war in the world--level, for God's sake, with North Korea and 
Iran--when you see things like that, do you think the world is out of 
step with America, or America is out of step with the world?
    The President. Well, first of all, you've got to know, I don't pay 
attention to the polls. I just don't. I've got a job to do for the 
American people. It's a job that was changed on September the 11th, 
2001, and I refuse to--I refuse to forget--I'll never forget the 
lessons, is a better way to put it, of what happened to this country. 
And there are terrorists who are willing to kill innocent life in order 
to create fear and chaos. There are terrorists who want the free world 
to retreat from duties so that they can impose Taliban-type governments 
and enslave people. There are people like Saddam Hussein, who tortured 
and maimed and killed and, at the same time, threatened and created the 
conditions of instability. And I know some people don't understand the 
need to deal with that, but I feel firmly we must deal with those 
issues.
    Q. But do you need to woo people more in the rest of the world?
    The President. We wooed--we did a pretty good job of wooing them at 
the United Nations. After all, remember, 1441 was a unanimous vote that 
said, after a decade of sending messages to Mr. Saddam Hussein for him 
to disarm, 1441 said, ``Disarm or there will be serious consequences.'' 
And that was a unanimous vote. In other words, the world, at least the 
Security Council, came together and sent a clear signal. Obviously, 
there was

[[Page 1627]]

a disagreement about the definition of ``serious consequence.'' But I 
can assure you, ``serious consequence'' isn't more resolutions or more 
debate. ``Serious consequence'' was with dealing with Mr. Saddam Hussein 
today, before it became too late.
    And I understand people don't agree with that position. But 
nevertheless, I'm convinced that the decisions we made--and there's a 
lot of countries that made that decision with us--that decision will 
make the world more peaceful and more free. That decision is in the 
long-term interests of people who love freedom.

France and Germany

    Q. And will you ever be able to forgive Jacques Chirac and 
Chancellor Schroeder for their actions of that time in undermining the 
second resolution?
    The President. Of course. It's like, I can understand why people 
express their disagreement with the policy. I understand not everybody 
is going to agree with every decision that I make or others make. But 
I've had meetings with Gerhardt Schroeder and Jacques Chirac since then. 
They've been very cordial meetings. Gerhardt Schroeder has now committed 
German troops to Afghanistan, which is a very important mission, to help 
stabilize that good country as it not only enacts a constitution but 
heads toward elections. And I appreciate the contribution of the German 
Government toward Afghanistan. I'm proud to say that it is a vital 
contribution, and I appreciate their willingness to work with us.
    Again, we're not going to agree on every issue, but a Europe which 
works closely with America and an America which works closely with 
Europe means the world will be better off.

EU-U.S. Relations

    Q. The difference really is, between Tony Blair and them, is that 
Tony Blair sees Europe as a partner of the United States, and they 
perhaps see Europe as a rival of the United States.
    The President. I don't think Germany sees that, for starters. In my 
conversations with Gerhardt Schroeder, they never yielded that 
impression. I think Germany understands it's important for the bilateral 
relationship between America and Germany to be strong. It's in our 
economic interests that it's strong. It's in the interest of peace that 
it be strong.
    I understand there was kind of this notion of multipolarity, which 
means that somehow the values of America need to be offset. But we're 
for peace; we're for freedom. This country is leading the world when it 
comes to fighting AIDS. And I can assure you, having studied this issue 
a lot, and I understand the pandemic of AIDS on the continent of Africa, 
we'll be better off--the people of Africa will be better off if Europe 
and the United States work together to fight the pandemic of AIDS. My 
only point is, there's a lot we can do working together.

European Defense Force

    Q. And what about the--I gather that you have some misgivings about 
the proposed European army, the danger that it might be a threat to 
NATO.
    The President. Yes, here's the thing, first of all, I believe that 
the European defense force ought to take on more responsibility on those 
missions which NATO turns down. I think it's good for the United States' 
interests. I think it's good for NATO's interests, so long as the 
defense force doesn't undermine the vitality of NATO. And Tony Blair 
tells me that the discussions he's having with other European countries 
will in no way undermine NATO, and I take his word for it. He's been a 
man who's been true to his word on a lot of issues, and I believe he'll 
be true to his word on this issue.

Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction

    Q. Tell me about--in terms of Iraq, tell me about weapons of mass 
destruction. The fact that we didn't find them, and so on, has been much 
discussed. But do you think that you were the victim of a failure of 
intelligence in a way?
    The President. Not at all.
    Q. No?
    The President. No, not at all. I think our intelligence was sound. I 
know the British intelligence was sound. It's the same intelligence that 
caused the United Nations to

[[Page 1628]]

pass resolution after resolution after resolution. It's the same 
intelligence that was used by my predecessor to bomb Iraq. I'm very 
confident we got good intelligence. And not only that, Mr. David Kay, 
who went over to kind of lead the effort to find the weapons or the 
intent of weapons, came back with a report that clearly stated that Mr. 
Saddam Hussein would--had been in material breach of Resolution 1441. In 
other words, had the inspectors found what Kay found, they would have 
reported back to the United Nations that he was in breach, that he was 
in violation of exactly what the United Nations expected him not to do.
    We'll find the truth. But this guy for many years had been hiding 
weapons, deceiving weapons. He had dual-use programs that could have 
been sped up. Nobody could say that Saddam Hussein wasn't a danger. Not 
only was he a danger to the free world--and that's what the world said; 
the world said it consistently--he was a danger to his own people as 
well. Remember, we discovered mass graves with hundreds of thousands of 
men and women and children clutching their little toys, as a result of 
this person's brutality.
    Go ahead. Sorry.
    Q. But in terms of--did you feel, in terms of if there wasn't a 
failure of intelligence, that there was a sort of exaggeration in what 
was predicted? I mean, did you ever believe that stuff, for instance? 
Did you ever believe that stuff about him having weapons of mass 
destruction that could be unleashed in 45 minutes, or did you never 
really believe that?
    The President. I believe he was a dangerous man.
    Q. But you didn't believe that.
    The President. Well, I believed a lot of things. But I know he was a 
dangerous man. And I know that for the sake of security, he needed to be 
dealt with. After all--again I repeat this because it's a very important 
point that people in your country must remember, and that is, the world 
had spoken, universally spoken, about this man's danger for 12 long 
years. And in order for--at the very minimum, in order for a 
multinational organization to be valid and effective, something has to 
happen other than resolutions. And when an organization says, ``If you 
don't disarm''--in other words, in order to say, ``They don't disarm,'' 
intelligence convinced a lot of nations, including France, that he had 
weapons. In other words, he had to disarm something. ``Dismantle your 
programs. If you don't do that, there will be a serious consequence.''
    And the fundamental question is, what is a ``serious consequence''? 
It's not another resolution. It's not more empty debate. A ``serious 
consequence,'' in this case, was removing Saddam Hussein so that his 
weapons programs would not be activated. And David Kay found evidence of 
weapons programs. He found some biological weapons--evidence of 
biological weapons. And it doesn't take much time----
    Q. But we really need the big discovery, don't we?
    The President. Well, that's pretty big, what I just told you. Now 
remember, for a long period of time, it was assumed that he didn't have 
a nuclear weapons program. And yet, after 1991, the world had to--
changed its attitude about this man's nuclear weapons program and 
admitted that it was very advanced. A nuclear weapon in the hands of 
somebody like Saddam Hussein, particularly given the lessons of 
September the 11th, 2001, would be a horrendous development. And we had 
to deal with him. And we did--in a way, by the way, that was a 
compassionate way. We spared innocent life. We targeted the guilty, and 
we moved hard and fast. And very little of Iraq was touched in toppling 
Saddam Hussein.

Planning for Iraq After Combat Operations

    Q. Did we, in fact--people have said, Mr. President, as you know, 
that the same meticulous planning that went into winning the war didn't 
go into winning the peace, and we were a bit unprepared for some of the 
surprises, the unpleasant surprises, you know, the terrorists and all of 
that that came along. Is that a fair comment?
    The President. No--[laughter]--it's not a fair comment. We look at 
all contingencies and are dealing with the contingencies. Look, let me--
if I could step back and maybe think out loud here about some of the 
stories or some of the speculation that was going on before we went into 
Iraq: One, the oil revenues would be blown up; the oil fields would

[[Page 1629]]

be destroyed. They weren't. As a matter of fact, oil production is up to 
2.1 million or 2.2 million barrels a day, to the benefit of the Iraqi 
people. That's a very important point.
    Remember, there was speculation about sectarian violence, that the 
long-suppressed Kurds or Shia may take out their anxieties and their 
frustrations on the Sunnis. That didn't happen. There was talk about 
mass starvation; it didn't happen. Refugee flows that would be 
unmanageable--that never happened. And so a lot of the contingency that 
we had planned for didn't happen. What has happened is that in a 
relatively small part of the country, there are Ba'athist----
    Q. You call it now the Ba'athist Triangle.
    The President. ----Sunni Triangle, they are attacking. And they're 
attacking not only coalition forces; they're attacking innocent Iraqis, 
because what they're trying to do is stop the spread of progress.
    Q. It's almost a guerrilla war there, really.
    The President. Well, I would call it a desperate attempt by people 
who were totally in control of government, through tyrannical means, to 
regain power. This is nothing more than a power grab.
    Now, there are some foreign fighters, mujahideen types or Al Qaida 
or Al Qaida affiliates involved as well. They've got a different 
mission. They want to install a Taliban-type Government in Iraq, or they 
want to seek revenge for getting whipped in Afghanistan. But 
nevertheless, they all have now found common ground for a brief period 
of time. And what we will do is, we will use Iraqi intelligence; we will 
use Iraqi security forces--we're up to about 118,000 Iraqi folks in one 
type of uniform or another securing the country--to be a integral part 
of chasing these killers down and to bring them to justice before they 
kill innocent life.
    Q. But it must have taken us a bit by surprise, or otherwise we'd 
have prepared for it, the level of this--the combination of the, what, 
700, perhaps, foreign terrorists who came into Iraq, and so on. That 
was----
    The President. I don't think so. I think a lot the people who came 
in initially wish they hadn't come in initially, or they're not wishing 
at all right now. But no, we understood it was going to be tough. We've 
been there for 7 months, David, which seems like a long time, 
particularly giving the news cycles the way they are. I'm certainly not 
complaining about the news cycles, but nevertheless, there's a certain 
sense of impatience that has now crept into the world. And my job is to 
enable our operators and military to make adjustments necessary to 
succeed. We've got the same strategy, which is a peaceful Iraq. The 
tactics shift, depending upon the decisions of the enemy. We're making 
progress.
    That's not to say it's not tough. Of course, it's tough. What they 
want to do is, they want to shake the will of the free world. And the 
good news about having a partner like Tony Blair is, he won't be shaken. 
And neither will I, and neither will Jose Maria Aznar. I heard 
Berlusconi stand up with a strong statement after the Italian police had 
been murdered. And we, of course, send our sympathies and prayers to the 
Italian people. But Berlusconi said, ``They're not going to run us 
out.''
    And that's what these terrorists need to hear. And more importantly, 
or as importantly, the Iraqi citizens need to hear that. They need to 
know that we won't leave the country prematurely. They need to know two 
things: We're not going to cut and run; and two, we believe they have 
the capacity to run their own country.

Timetable for Iraq

    Q. The cut-and-run thing, obviously, is absolutely vital. And you've 
said you're not going to cut and run. You'll be there as long as it 
takes. Tony Blair, in his speech on Monday night, said, ``We're not 
going to retreat one inch.'' I mean, we're there for how long it takes 
to produce a successful Iraqi democracy, are we?
    The President. Yes, absolutely.
    Q. Whether that's years and years or what?
    The President. Well, we don't think it will be years and years, 
because, first of all, we think the Iraqi people are plenty capable of 
running their own country, and we think they want to run their own 
country. And just today I had discussions with Jerry Bremer, our 
Ambassador in Baghdad, who flew back to discuss ways----
    Q. Oh, yes----

[[Page 1630]]

    The President. Well, just to discuss ways to do--to assure the Iraqi 
people that we have confidence in their capability. See, some in the 
world, some in the world don't believe that Iraq can run itself. They 
believe that, ``Might as well let them have a military dictatorship or a 
tyrant. That's the only way they can be governed.''
    I disagree, and Tony Blair disagrees with that. We believe that 
democracy will take hold in Iraq, and we believe a free and democratic 
Iraq will help change the Middle East. There are hundreds of reformers 
that are desperate for freedom. Freedom--freedom is not America's gift 
to the world or Great Britain's gift to the world. Freedom is the 
Almighty's gift to everybody who lives in the world.

Role of Saddam Hussein

    Q. Is there any likelihood that Saddam himself could be behind this 
violence?
    The President. Saddam Hussein is a violent man. Listen, he tortured 
and maimed and killed. He had rape rooms, and people disappeared because 
they spoke out against him. We've discovered mass graves. He's a brutal, 
brutal tyrant--brutal tyrant. We did the Iraqi people a great favor by 
removing him. So I wouldn't be surprised that any kind of violence is 
promoted by him, but I don't know. I don't know. All I know is, we're 
after him.

Role of World Opinion in Regime Change

    Q. That's one of the interesting things. I mean, nobody has time for 
a moment for Saddam Hussein. Some people are worried in England and 
around the world by the idea of regime change, because they say, ``Once 
we've done regime change, Britain and America with Saddam Hussein, what 
can we say if India wants to do regime change with Pakistan, or Pakistan 
wants to do regime change with India?''
    The President. Well, see, I can understand their concerns, except 
they forgot the history. This issue has been discussed in the United 
Nations for over a decade. And the United Nations, as a multilateral 
international body, passed resolution after resolution after resolution 
calling for Saddam Hussein to disarm. In other words, the diplomatic 
process went forward. There was plenty of diplomacy. And to the critics, 
I would say that there will be diplomacy when it comes to India and 
Pakistan. The world will speak out clearly.
    The problem is, is that when the world speaks out clearly and then 
nothing happens, all we've got is empty words. It's tyrants that take 
advantage of that. Tyrants--if tyrants don't fear--feel like they can 
torture and kill with impunity, feel like they can blackmail the world, 
and all the world does is put out empty words, it makes multilateralism 
extremely ineffective.
    If I could take a second to remind your viewers that, obviously, not 
every situation needs to be solved militarily. Military option is the 
last option, as far as I'm concerned. And I would refer people to North 
Korea, where we've got a multilateral attempt to convince Kim Chong-il 
to get rid of his nuclear ambitions. We understand, just like Saddam 
Hussein, that he has been torturous to his people--people in North Korea 
are starving to death--and that weapons of mass destruction in his hands 
given his history, just like weapons of mass destruction in Saddam's 
hands given his history, is a very dangerous element. It's a dangerous--
it inhibits the capacity for peace and freedom to spread.
    But what I've done is, I've convinced China and South Korea and 
Japan and Russia to speak with one voice to the North Koreans, and say, 
``Get rid of your nuclear ambitions.'' We're also, at the same time, 
working on a counterproliferation regime that will stop his ability to 
ship weapons of mass destruction or a nuclear warhead to a terrorist 
group. In other words, we're working together in a multilateral, 
multinational fashion to bring peace and stability to the world.

War on Terror

    Q. Someone who knows how passionate you are about this war on terror 
and Iraq and so on said, ``I know George Bush, and I think, in terms of 
his legacy, he'd rather--I'll tell you how strongly he feels. He said 
he'd rather be defeated by the voters than by the terrorists.'' Is that 
true?
    The President. I'd rather not be defeated by either. [Laughter] And 
we will not be defeated by the terrorists. I say that confidently,

[[Page 1631]]

because the allies in the war on terror are strong and steadfast, and 
there's no stronger and steadfast ally in the war on terror than Tony 
Blair. He understands the stakes. He knows that freedom is being 
challenged. He understands as well that the spread of freedom and 
democracy, in the long run, will defeat terror. And that's why the 
battle--the stakes are so high in Iraq right now. By the way, Iraq is a 
front in the war on terror. And it's important for people to understand 
that, because the war takes place elsewhere.

Reform of the Palestinian Authority

    Q. And in--one of the reasons that people say, in the Arab world--
obviously there was your landmark speech last week--but in the Arab 
world, that you won't really be able to address the balance against 
America until the United States is seen not to tilt towards Israel in 
the Middle East. What do you think about that?
    The President. I think about that: I think it's an excuse, because 
America--I am the first President ever to go to the United Nations----
    Q. And say, two----
    The President. Two states side by side in peace.
    Q. ----two states.
    The President. No President has ever said that. And I said it, and I 
said it with conviction, because I believe it is in Israel's interest 
that there be a peaceful Palestinian state, and I know it's in the 
Palestinians' interest. However, to achieve a peaceful Palestinian 
state, the emergence of a peaceful Palestinian state, a state where 
people are willing to risk capital, a place where people are willing to 
develop an economy, there must be a focused effort to defeat terror. And 
there hasn't been with the current Palestinian leadership.
    I went in and embraced, in Aqaba, Jordan, Abu Mazen. And the reason 
I did so, David, is because he came to the Oval Office and he said, ``I 
will join you in the fight against terror. We're not going to allow the 
few to destroy the hopes of the many.'' As well, I could sense in his 
talk, in his feeling, that he has--he's got great trust in the 
Palestinian people. In other words, given the chance, the Palestinian 
people will develop the habits of democracy, and out of that will come a 
great state, a peaceful state. And I trusted him, and we were working 
with him. We were making good progress. And I was working with Ariel 
Sharon. I gave a speech on June 24th, 2002, which says, ``All of us have 
responsibilities, and you, Israel, have a responsibility.''

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel

    Q. Do you think Ariel Sharon could ever emerge as a man of peace?
    The President. Yes, I do. I believe he wants peace for his people. I 
truly do. I mean, he's a man who has presided over suiciders, where he 
has to go to the funerals of women and children because some cold-
blooded killer is trying to destroy the hopes of all the people in the 
region. And it's--yes, I believe so. And I believe he believes in a 
Palestinian state. I've asked him in the Oval Office, I said, ``Listen, 
am I out there by myself on a Palestinian state, or will you support 
it?'' He said he will. But both of us understand, as do a lot of other 
people, that for a state to emerge, there must be a focused effort to 
get after the Hamas killers, for example, who want to destroy the hopes 
of the people that believe in a Palestinian state. And there hasn't been 
that effort.
    Anyway, let me finish my Abu Mazen story, if you don't mind. I 
embraced the guy, and I believe that he is a--I believe he's a partner 
with whom we can work, and he's shoved out. Progress is being made, and 
he is shoved aside by the old guard. And that's unacceptable behavior. 
It's just unacceptable.

British Detainees at Guantanamo Bay

    Q. Guantanamo. You're going to get asked about, obviously, in 
England, what's going to happen to our British detainees. Tony Blair was 
talking about it in the House of Commons this week and saying, hopefully 
they'd be tried before a proper court or repatriated to be tried in the 
U.K. Will you have any good news for us on that? For him on that?
    The President. You mean right here, sitting right here, me and you, 
talking--the good news is, one, they'll be treated fairly, like they 
are. And two, I'm working closely with Tony to come up with a solution 
that he's comfortable with. And I emphasize, a

[[Page 1632]]

solution that he's comfortable with. These prisoners are being treated--
these were illegal non-combatants picked up off of a battlefield. And 
they're being well-treated, and they will go through a military tribunal 
at some point in time, which is--a military tribunal, which is in 
international accord--or in line with international accords.
    Q. As we approach the end of this interview, Mr. President--I could 
carry on for hours, actually, but I know you've got a lot to do, more 
than the rest of us. As we approach the end of this interview, what 
would you say is the most important lesson you've learned in life in the 
Presidency?
    The President. The most important lesson in life in the Presidency 
is to have a clear vision of where you want to lead, and lead. I've got 
a clear vision: It's a world that is more free and therefore more 
peaceful; a world based upon human rights, human dignity, and justice; a 
world that does not discriminate between one group of people or--a 
vision that does not discriminate between one group of people or 
another, because I believe all people have the desire to be free. And 
I'm willing to lead there.
    And the people of this country will make their--you asked about 
politics--they'll make the decision as to whether or not they--I've have 
been honest with them and open with them and whether or not they like my 
leadership style. A lot of it will have to do with the economy, of 
course, whether I get another 4 years. But I think it's important to 
know where you want to lead, and lead.

Bush Team for a Second Term

    Q. Would you hope to present to the country the same team, Dick 
Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell and Condi Rice, for the 
second term?
    The President. It's been a fabulous team, and Cheney for certain. 
And I haven't--obviously, I'm not going to talk to my Cabinet ministers 
until after the election. But I'm proud of this team. I put together one 
of the finest teams, one of the finest administrations any President has 
ever assembled. These are good, honest, decent, hardworking, experienced 
people who give me good, unvarnished advice and, when I make a decision, 
say, ``Yes, sir, Mr. President, we'll go execute it.''
    Q. Well, thank you for your decision to do this interview.
    The President. Thank you, sir. I enjoyed seeing you.

Note: The interview was taped at 3:08 p.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast on BBC One's ``Breakfast With Frost.'' The 
transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on November 
17. In his remarks, the President referred to Queen Elizabeth II and 
Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; former President Saddam 
Hussein of Iraq; Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany; President 
Jacques Chirac of France; former President William J. Clinton; David 
Kay, CIA Special Advisor for Strategy Regarding Iraqi Weapons of Mass 
Destruction Programs; President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain; Prime 
Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy; L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential 
Envoy to Iraq; President Kim Chong-il of North Korea; and former Prime 
Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority. 
Portions of this interview could not be verified because the tape was 
incomplete.