Bush: "I'm Sure People View Me As A War Monger"

In Riyadh today, the president danced a traditional sword dance with one of the princes of the royal family. It was a public -- and a little awkward -- display of affection, all part of Bush's first visit to Saudi Arabia aimed at repairing strained relations between the world's biggest oil producer and the world' s biggest oil consumer.

The president sat down with "Nightline" co-anchor Terry Moran at one of the vast royal palaces, and it became clear who holds the cards right now in the oil markets, with the price up near $100 a barrel...

..."I have talked to these leaders face to face," he said. "I have asked them point blank, 'Do you understand how difficult these issues are?' Yes. 'Are you prepared to make the painful political compromises?' They say they are."

Despite that optimism, the president also said that he does feel misunderstood in the Middle East.

"My image [is] 'Bush wants to fight Muslims.' And, yes, I'm concerned about it. Not because of me, personally. I'm concerned because I want most people to understand the great generosity and compassion of Americans," he said.

"I'm sure people view me as a war monger and I view myself as peacemaker," the president said. "They view me as so pro-Israeli I can't be open-minded about Palestinian peace, and yet I'm the only president ever to have articulated a two-state solution. And you just have to fight through stereotypes by actions."

Read entire article.

See a slideshow of Bush in Saudi Arabia.

Comments

[mjjcpa]

Peace

[Abycat]

NOPE! Just a rectal aperture.

[landmine]

Interesting. He is starting to care how he is viewed? I guess self doubt happens when 1/2 your administration quits, the other half is under investigation/goes to jail. Too bad they tore down Spandau prison. He could do his reflection among the ghosts of other war criminals.

[aznurse]

We sure do!

[adzeman]

Warmonger? Naw, not you George. I imagine this trip is a reality check on your fever dream of history bailing you out. The hatred of you and your cabal is palpable isn't it. Kind of like Scrooge on Christmas night. Except you don't get the do-over. You just get to live a long retirement in disgrace and shame. Repeat after me, George: Worst. President. Ever.

[Cunningham]

People view you as a WAR CRIMINAL.

[BUSHsurvivor]

War-monger, inept, failed policy maker, cowboy-wannabe...the list goes on!

[LITU]

What depresses me about this fucking country is the number of citizens willing to join with these (obvious) crooks. God bless us? What kind of idiot God would bless us? Exactly!

(Another good reason not to believe in a Christian God.)

[GeoLee]

Well, he lapsed ino reality for the first part of the sentence, but alas, the out of touch part took back over again when he said he viewed himself as a peacemaker.

[AjazHaque]

Indeed Sir, you are monger.
You launched a war on innocent Iraqis killing nearly 250,000 of them. Your actions also killed 3,000 American troops and made 30,000 lose their limbs.

Indeed Sir you are a war monger. Unfortunately the realization has come too late to you.

[ChiGuy]

I am sure it has been said a couple of dozen times on here, but WOW, after 7 years, he FINALLY got something right.

[offred]

War monger?!?! Duh!

Well, at least it sounds like he may be listening to people other than his Bush worshippin' yahoos.

[BillBlue]

No, Mr. President, we don't think you're a war-monger. We think Vice President Cheney is a war monger, as are the neo-con officials with which he staffed your administration.

We think you are a very weak and uninformed man who lacked the strength of intellect and character to stand up to the Vice President and the war mongers who will help to define your administration for history.

No, Mr. President, we don't think you're a war-monger.

BillBlue

[TheHandyman]

I do not understand how any reporter, if they were in the least bit patriotic, could listen to this pitiful excuse of a human being without rolling on the floor, laughing until tears rolled down their cheek. He is unbelievable, really, unbelievable. He says he thinks people think he is a warmonger. That alone makes me snicker. First, we don't think he is a warmonger, we know it. Secondly we also know he isn't capable of thinking rationally like other humans. He sees himself as a peacemaker. God, now I am really laughing. This has to be sacasm, right? A peacemaked who seeks peace by killing tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, some of them his own, and he thiks this is peacemaking. He breaks down in tears and then says the Allies should have bombed Auschwitz. He proves he can't think again because the bombs would have killed the Jews too. If this were not so funny we would have to admit that we've allowed a madman to run amok for 7 years and for what?

And to think that there are still people, some of them posting here, who believe in this delusional fool. They deserve the fate he deserves, to be hung by the neck until dead!

[PACRAT]

Bush is not a war monger - mongering is an honorable profession! Is Bush an honorable person!

An innocent land devastated, hundreds of thousands of its citizens dead and millions more displaced, thousands of our military killed and many more seriously injured who will not receive attention from the government, families here devastated, our economy ruined, terrorism stronger than ever, our Constitution in shatters - and so on and on. A war monger? Does he really think that's all he is?