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On 14 November and in advance of his trip to the UK, US President George W. Bush sat for a Whitehouse interview with the Daily Telegraph (UK), Financial Times, and Press Association (UK). Below find the Whitehouse url to a verbatim transcript for the entire interview. Below also find a few excerpts related to 11 September and "free societies." For all of his Iraq-related remarks, see the full transcript. Source: Daily Telegraph (UK), Financial Times and Press Association (UK), interview with US President George W. Bush, 14 November 2003, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031114-2.html In the interview, Bush states among other things the basis for his foreign policy, his rationale for invading Iraq, his vision for Iraq, and his view of the current situation in Iraq Several times Bush invoked 11 September, including to apparently link "[un]free societies" to "terror", to 11 September, to "a different kind of war" "wage[d] "vigorously to protect the American people", with "the spread of freedom" as "the best way to win in the long run." He relates this links to Iraq in part by stating "The actions we have taken will make the world more secure and the world more peaceful in the long run; that a free Iraq, free of weapons of mass destruction, free of tyranny, is not only good for the long-suffering Iraqi people - which, in itself, is important - but is going to be good for the long-term for countries which love freedom. Can you imagine the historic change, the landmark moment that is taking place now, where we've got a free - a country which is emerging to be free and peaceful in the midst of a part of the world where violence and tyranny and terror have reigned." More extensively referring to 11 September, Bush stated "those consequences and that moment has directly affected my foreign policy. See, it changed the nature of the presidency. It changed the security arrangements of the United States of America. I vowed to the American people I would never forget the lessons of September 11th, 2001. And that is, we are no longer protected by oceans. We're vulnerable to attack by terrorists...those consequences and that moment has directly affected my foreign policy. See, it changed the nature of the presidency. It changed the security arrangements of the United States of America. I vowed to the American people I would never forget the lessons of September 11th, 2001. And that is, we are no longer protected by oceans. We're vulnerable to attack by terrorists...I make decisions based upon - in the foreign policy arena, made decisions based upon a couple of principles. One, how best to secure America? That's my biggest responsibility. See, I was there right after September 11th. I saw the smoke. I saw the devastation. I heard the grief. I hugged the firefighters whose - the families of the firefighters who rushed in to save. I saw the heroism. And I vowed right then and there that I would use everything in my power to prevent America from being attacked again. But there's a greater ambition, as well, because I understand that free societies are societies which do not breed terror. And I gave a speech the other day <http://www.ned.org/events/anniversary/oct1603-Bush.html>, and in that speech I said the are certain folks who I think don't believe that freedom can take hold in parts of our world. And I reminded them about some of the statements about the post-World War II Japan, that there were some skeptics who said that, well, Japan couldn't possibly be a free society or a democratic society. I thought about that when I was eating dinner with Koizumi, Prime Minister Koizumi, he's a good friend -- thinking about what would happen if we had not done a good job with the peace after World War II? Would America and Japan be able to work together, for example, on the North Korean issue had it not been done right? My point to you is that free societies and democratic societies are transforming societies. And we have a chance to transform by working together, transform in a positive way whole societies and whole regions of the world. ..I can understand people not liking war, if that's what they're there to protest. I don't like war. War is the last choice a President should make, not the first. And it was the last choice, after endless years of diplomacy took place - resolution after resolution after resolution after resolution that was put forth in the UN condemning the - and warning the world, frankly, of the dangers of Saddam Hussein, and condemning his programs, and insisting that he disarm. And, finally, in 1141, as you know, by unanimous vote, the world said - at least the UN Security Council said, disarm or there will be serious consequences. And he didn't disarm. He had no intention of disarming. And so then the fundamental question came down to a couple of things. One, the definition of serious consequence. Serious consequence is not another resolution, or another debate inside the UN. And I understand people loathe war. So do I. And, yet, we are war. That's what September 11th taught us. It's a different kind of war. And I intend to, so long as I'm the President, wage that war vigorously to protect the American people." Nathaniel Hurd Consultant on Iraq policy Tel. (Mobile): 917-407-3389 Fax: 718-504-4224 E-mail: nathaniel_hurd@hotmail.com 777 1st Avenue (E. 44th St./1st Ave.) Suite 7A New York, NY 10017 _________________________________________________________________ Compare high-speed Internet plans, starting at $26.95. https://broadband.msn.com (Prices may vary by service area.) _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk