Bush on Blair: We'll use the words friends and allies in reference to the UK, but there's no special favors at the G8 ...
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, again, I really don't view our relationship as one of, you know, we both make decisions and try to earn credit with each other on a personal basis. Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as did I.
Read the transcript here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g8/story/0,13365,1521149,00.html
My early morning impressions are below the fold, sort of focussing more on the questions than the responses ...
Bush on Pollution: Kyoto, He sort of admits Global Warming is caused by human activity, Nuklear future, swapping technologies is the way to go but only if it benefits the US economy with no regard for anyone else in the world.
TONIGHT: And because, sir, America remains the biggest polluter.
PRESIDENT BUSH: America is the largest investor in the technologies necessary to be able to say to people, 'You can grow your economy so people's standard of living can improve, and at the same time be good stewards of the environment'.
TONIGHT: But pollution in this country has increased amazingly since 1992.
PRESIDENT BUSH: That is a totally inaccurate statement.
TONIGHT: It's a UN figure.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I just beg to differ with every figure you've got. The environment has - the quality of the environment has improved, in spite of the fact that we've grown our economy.
Bush on Africa: We'll only give if they stamp out the corruption and invest in people, transparent governments ... and our tax system encourages giving ... we're generous too.
TONIGHT: I hear what you say about tripling the aid to Africa, but it's still only - it's less than 0.2% of gross domestic national product. And that is less than what the United Nations talks about, of having 0.7%. Some European countries are moving towards that. Why can't America?
Bush on trade: Our farmers are subsidized but the EU is much worse ... free trade to replace aid and of course there's no strings attached ....
Bush's 3 week war in Iraq: I'll just quote the questions because it reads like a real interview ... if you really want to read Bush's answers, the Guardian deserve the hits :)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g8/story/0,13365,1521149,00.html
TONIGHT: Mr President, if I can move on to the question of Iraq, when we last spoke before the Iraq war, I asked you about Saddam Hussein and you said this, and I quote: "He harbours and develops weapons of mass destruction, make no mistake about it."
Well, today, no WMD, the war has cost 1,700 American lives, many more Iraqi civilians killed, hundreds of billions of dollars in cost to your country. Can you understand why some people in your country are now beginning to wonder whether it was really worth it?
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TONIGHT: Have you still - do you still think that you may have mismanaged, or do you think you may have mismanaged public expectations about a quick victory and a decisive ending to this war? You've talked in optimistic terms. But now, as you say, the carnage on the screens night after night seems - tell a different story.
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TONIGHT: Is the administration at sixes and sevens about the insurgency in Iraq? The vice-president said that we're in the last throes, or seeing the last throes of the insurgency. Donald Rumsfeld comes up and says we could be there for five, eight, 10, 12 years. Which is it? Which do you believe?
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TONIGHT: But how long will it take, Mr President?
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TONIGHT: Do you ever think maybe this was not such a good idea?
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TONIGHT: You have never had any doubts at all about it?