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Ärende: Press Release (0507017) for Fri, 2005 Jul 1
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Interview of the President by Danish Broadcasting Corporation
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 1, 2005

Interview of the President by Danish Broadcasting Corporation
The Map Room



June 29, 2005

1:45 P.M. EDT

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Let me initially thank you for this
opportunity. It is actually the first time an American President in office
has been interviewed like this on Danish television.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, thanks. Glad to do it. Thank you.

Q And there is obviously an abundance of subjects that would be of great
interest to talk about, but since we only have limited time, I would like
to start rather bluntly, if I may. There are many people in Europe and in
Denmark who feels that America, under your leadership, has become an often
arrogant superpower. And the "either you're with us or against us" attitude
has created a more violent and dangerous world. What do you say to those
people?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I can understand why some people didn't
agree with or support my decision to, for example, take the Taliban out in
Afghanistan, or take the action I took in Iraq. Those are hard decisions.
And I can understand why some said, well, gosh, we don't understand why he
did that, nor do we agree with it.

On the other hand, people have got to understand my mentality, and it
changed after September the 11th. For some in Europe, September the 11th
was just a moment, a sad moment. For me, it changed how I looked at the
world and changed how many Americans looked at the world because we were
attacked. And we believe we're at war with a group of hateful men who
profess an ideology that is the opposite of ours.

And -- but having said that, in defense of my policies, I did go to the
United Nations, not only for Afghanistan, but for Iraq. And we did work
with allies and we did ask people's opinion. And we put a coalition
together, of which your great country joined. And I'm thankful for your
Prime Minister's tough decision. He's a good man, and he's a friend.

It's -- I understand we have an obligation as an influential nation to
reach out to others. And I believe I've done so as the President. And we
also have an obligation as an influential nation to help others. And I'm
going to the G8 here -- I'm going to Denmark first, then the G8, and I'm
proud to talk about the record we've got when it comes to HIV/AIDS on the
continent of Africa, or feeding the hungry. But -- and I've got a -- I look
forward to going to Denmark and explaining what's in our heart and our
intentions and our desires, and our friendship with the Danish people.

Q But I do also sense that there are some who feel that the moral
leadership of the United States has been somehow compromised by the fact
that the world was led to the war in Iraq believing that there was weapons
of mass destruction. It now seems like there wasn't. And I know that there
were other nations, there was the U.N., who also believed there were
weapons of mass destruction. But you said it again and again; people in
your administration said it again and again.

THE PRESIDENT: Right.

Q How do you feel about that today?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm obviously disappointed. I thought there were -- I
thought we'd find weapons of mass destruction, as did the world. In other
words, it wasn't just our intelligence, nor was it just my administration.
My predecessor, President Clinton, felt the same way, based upon what
everybody thought was solid intelligence. That's why I -- here I put
together a group of distinguished citizens from both political parties to
analyze what went wrong on the intelligence. As a matter of fact --
announced today that we were implementing some serious reforms of our
intelligence-gathering.

On the other hand, I believe we made the right decision because Saddam
Hussein was not only a tyrant, but he was a threat to world peace. He had
the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. Even though we hadn't
found the weapons themselves, we certainly know he made the capacity.

And people who went and analyzed the situation came back and said, look, he
was a dangerous person -- even though no weapons were found, the ability to
make weapons, and his intent and his relationship with terrorists. So I --

Q But do you understand that there are people who say, can we believe it
the next time a grave danger is emerging?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I can. Sure. Absolutely. And I, myself, want to make
sure that the intelligence that we share with our friends and allies is --
or the intelligence we get from our allies -- is good, solid intelligence.
Absolutely. I've got to make decisions based upon good information.

And people of Denmark got to understand, listen, committing troops ought to
be -- is the last option for me. It's the hardest thing a President does.
And I don't like to commit troops. Yesterday, I gave a speech to the nation
about a way forward in Iraq. I'm confident Iraq is going to be a free and
democratic nation. Before I did so, I met with 38 families, all of whom had
a loved one die in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it's hard to do that. It's
hard to know that my decision put these kids in harm's way and they didn't
come back to the arms of their loved ones. And you just got to know, it is
-- it is the last thing I want to do. The last decision I want to make is
to put our young folks into harm's way.

And it's -- I had to tell every one of them two things. One, I thanked them
for their sacrifice, but also reminded them that we're laying the
foundations for peace. And I truly believe we are. I would not put those
kids out there if I didn't believe there's a better world ahead.

Q Now, you have, as President, been dealing seriously and intensively with
Europe for the last four-and-a-half years. And if I may ask you a little
unconventional question: What do you think is the most annoying aspect of
the way that we Europeans look at the world?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, that's a very tough question because if I answer
it, obviously I admit there's something annoying about Europeans, which I
don't want to admit, I don't want to say that. Listen, I think --

Q But we do look at the world very differently, don't we?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, for example, Kyoto. Let me bring up a very
controversial subject. A lot of the leaders in Europe and a lot of people
in Europe believe that all -- get the United States to sign Kyoto and
everything would be fine with the environment.

Well, first of all, Kyoto would have wrecked our economy. And I couldn't,
in good faith, sign Kyoto. And nor -- 99 senators, U.S. senators from both
parties, said, don't sign Kyoto, we're not for Kyoto. It became a point of
contention that I didn't think was healthy or necessary, and yet, it became
a -- it became a -- kind of a signpost of whether or not the United States
was willing to participate with other nations.

By the way, Kyoto didn't include China and India, for starters, who happen
to be big polluters, as well. And so I'm going to go to the G8, by the way,
and I'll talk to Anders about this when I see him, about my plans to share
a lot of the research and development we're doing. I mean, we're spending
$20 billion to better understand the science, and better -- and more likely
to develop technologies that will enable this country to diversify away
from fossil fuels.

See, we got to diversify away from fossil fuels. We're hooked on oil from
the Middle East which is a national security problem and an economic
security problem, and at the same time, burning fossil fuels is a part of
the cause of greenhouse gases.

Q Let me change subjects completely if I may. The cultural war, as it often
described here in America, is something that we in Denmark look upon with
some interest and some also maybe lack of understanding -- gay marriage,
abortion, and so forth.

THE PRESIDENT: Sure.

Q Why have these subjects become such a focus in America today?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think abortion -- I know abortion has been a focus
for quite a period of time. And there is a genuine philosophical debate, a
debate amongst good people -- good, decent, honorable, patriotic Americans
who have a difference of opinion. I happen to be one who believes that we
ought to guard life; life is precious in all forms, all stages. And that
then leads into political debates, that philosophy, that belief leads into
political debates on issues like whether or not a parent should be notified
prior to a daughter's abortion, for example. That's how it has manifested
-- different laws, for example. Occasionally -- somebody proposed a law,
for example, if you murder a pregnant woman, should the person be charged
with murder once or twice? I happen to believe the person ought to be
charged twice, first the mother and second the -- the child. And that, of
course, sparks debate. And that's why you're seeing debates on this issue.

Gay marriage is another issue --

Q Can I just, if I may, your personal -- do you think abortion should be
illegal?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I've always believed that there -- we ought to --
abortion ought to be illegal with the exception of rape, incest, or life of
the mother. But, look, I'm a realist, as well. I mean, this is an issue
that has polarized the American political society. And in order to get good
policy in place that protects the life of a child, we're going to have to
change hearts. And it's -- so I've been promoting what I call a culture of
life, at every aspect of the debate remind people that life is precious.
And -- but I can see why people take an interest in the debates here. It's
-- it's -- I happen to believe a society based upon respect for life is an
important society -- is a whole society, I guess is a better way to put it.

Q When I told my 11-year-old daughter the other day that I was going to
interview you, she asked me what does a President really do. And I told
her, maybe a little simplistically, that he rules the world. (Laughter.)
And she then asked me, what does a man with so much power think about
before he falls asleep?

THE PRESIDENT: That's great.

Q So if I may be a little personal here, Mr. President --

THE PRESIDENT: Sure.

Q -- I would like to convey her question to you, and what do you think
about when you have time alone?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, fascinating question. Sometimes the 11-year-olds ask
better questions than us -- than we adults. First, if I -- if she asked me
what do I do, I would -- I would say, I make a lot of decisions. It's a
decision-making job, which means I better listen to good people. And I
think when the people take a look at my government, they'll say, gosh, that
old George W. is surrounding himself with some great people. And I have.
And I give them a chance to tell me what's on their mind. I listen
carefully, and then I make up my mind, and they say, yes, sir, Mr.
President.

You've got to tell your daughter that, one, I sleep well at night. I
subscribe that -- this may be controversial for some -- I subscribe it to
the fact that I've got peace of mind. And I attribute that to my faith, and
to this amazing fact about America: Millions of people -- no matter what
their political affiliation may be or their background -- pray for me and
Laura. And for that, I am incredibly grateful.

I'm an exerciser. I love to exercise. Your Prime Minister has challenged me
to many a run and bike ride. I'm -- I can only -- I can't run with him
because my knees hurt. And I probably won't be able to bike with him
because he's a great athlete, but nevertheless, I exercise a lot. And that
helps take the stress off.

I read a lot. And so when I -- tell your daughter, right before I go to
bed, after I do my homework, I'm an avid reader. I like to read history. I
just finished a book about George Washington. And so I get my mind off my
work, and get my -- I get -- if I've got troubles, I get my -- get the
troubles off my mind by reading a lot. And then I -- I'm kind of getting to
be an old guy so I fall asleep about 9:30 p.m., much to the chagrin of
Laura Bush. Up at 5:15 a.m., I get to work about 6:45 a.m.

Q Thank you, sir. Just this very last question.

THE PRESIDENT: Please.

Q What are you looking forward mostly to your visit to Denmark?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm looking forward to seeing your Prime Minister, who I
like. He's a good guy. I'm looking forward to seeing Her Majesty. I have
never been to Denmark; I'm looking forward to seeing the beauty of the
country. I don't get out much when I travel, I must confess. I won't be
your average American tourist being able to move around freely. I wish I
could. But the job doesn't afford me to do that, nor -- you know, it would
be unfair to the people of Denmark if I tried to move around too much
because the security would be quite inconvenient to them. But I really am
looking forward to having a good discussion, talking about our common
interests, talking about a way forward to help promote democracy and peace.
And I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend.

Q Thank you very much, sir, for your time. And I hope you have a pleasant
and enjoyable visit to Denmark.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir, appreciate it.

Q Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Good job.

Q Thank you.

END 1:58 P.M. EDT

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