Tuesday, March 21, 2006
'No President Wants War'
"We're making progress [in Iraq], and that's important for the American people to understand," President Bush told a news conference on Tuesday.
Bush said he called the press conference to tell the American people what's on his mind - and "what's on my mind is winning the war on terror."
But one reporter suggested that the president has been lying all along about his "real reason" for going to war.
"Why did you really want to go to war, from the moment you stepped into the White House... what was your real reason?" longtime Washington reporter Helen Thomas asked the president at the news conference.
"To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen," Bush responded. "No president wants war."
"My attitude about this country changed on Sept. 11," Bush said. After the terror attacks on U.S. soil, Bush said he vowed to use "every asset at my disposal to protect the American people."
Helen Thomas repeatedly interrupted the president as he tried to explain that the Taliban plotted with al Qaeda, and that's why he sent troops to Afghanistan; and that he tried to solve the Iraq problem diplomatically before going to war in that country.
President Bush said Americans must understand that Iraq is part of a wider global war on terror: "If I didn't believe we had a plan for victory, I wouldn't leave our troops in harm's way."
"We're making progress [in Iraq], and that's important for the American people to understand," President Bush told a news conference on Tuesday.
Bush said he called the press conference to tell the American people what's on his mind - and "what's on my mind is winning the war on terror."
But one reporter suggested that the president has been lying all along about his "real reason" for going to war.
"Why did you really want to go to war, from the moment you stepped into the White House... what was your real reason?" longtime Washington reporter Helen Thomas asked the president at the news conference.
"To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen," Bush responded. "No president wants war."
"My attitude about this country changed on Sept. 11," Bush said. After the terror attacks on U.S. soil, Bush said he vowed to use "every asset at my disposal to protect the American people."
Helen Thomas repeatedly interrupted the president as he tried to explain that the Taliban plotted with al Qaeda, and that's why he sent troops to Afghanistan; and that he tried to solve the Iraq problem diplomatically before going to war in that country.
President Bush said Americans must understand that Iraq is part of a wider global war on terror: "If I didn't believe we had a plan for victory, I wouldn't leave our troops in harm's way."
