[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 45 (Monday, November 12, 2007)]
[Pages 1469-1473]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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.

[[Page 1470]]

    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.
    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

[[Page 1471]]

have a disagreement doesn't mean that you can't work together.

President Vladimir 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 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''----

[[Page 1472]]

    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 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.

[[Page 1473]]

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 awhile to get the true history of an administration.
    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.