#1: President Spoke to 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley at Camp David: "On Jan. 12, 2007, two days after President George W. Bush told the country that he would send 21,000 more troops into Iraq, the president sat down with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley for a candid conversation."
PELLEY: Did you see the video of Saddam Hussein's . . .#2: Saddam aides hanged, anger at beheading "mishap": "Two of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said, admitting that the head of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution. … Government adviser Bassam al-Husseini said the damage to the body was 'an act of God'."
BUSH: I saw some of it.
PELLEY: . . . execution?
BUSH: Yeah.
PELLEY: What did you think when you saw that?
BUSH: I thought it was discouraging. You know, obviously could have handled this thing a lot better. And I knew it'd be, you know, one of those incidents where it would call into doubt . . . it would create further skepticism. You know, it's important that-- that chapter of Iraqi history be closed. They could have handled it a lot better.
[…]
BUSH: Somebody showed me parts of it. Yeah. I didn't wanna watch the whole thing.
PELLEY: Well, you keep saying "parts of it." What do you mean you didn't wanna watch the whole thing?
BUSH: I wasn't sure what to anticipate beyond the yelling and stuff like that. And I didn't . . .
PELLEY: You didn't wanna see him go through the trapdoor.
BUSH: Yeah. Yes. I didn't.
I'm guessing Bush wouldn't have wanted to see Saddam's half-brother's head getting ripped off, either. I'm also guessing he feels the Iraqis could have handled that a lot better, too. In fact, they probably owe us an apology.
PELLEY: Do you think you owe the Iraqi people an apology for not doing a better job?Wow.
BUSH: That we didn’t do a better job or they didn’t do a better job?
PELLEY: Well, that the United States did not do a better job in providing security after the invasion.
BUSH: Not at all. I am proud of the efforts we did. We liberated that country from a tyrant. I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude, and I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean, the people understand that we’ve endured great sacrifice to help them. That’s the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that’s significant enough in Iraq.
PELLEY: Americans wonder whether . . .
BUSH: Yeah, they wonder whether or not the Iraqis are willing to do hard work necessary to get this democratic experience to survive. That’s what they want.
A Tale of Two Stories
#1: President Spoke to 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley at Camp David: "On Jan. 12, 2007, two days after President George W. Bush told the country that he would send 21,000 more troops into Iraq, the president sat down with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley for a candid conversation."
I'm guessing Bush wouldn't have wanted to see Saddam's half-brother's head getting ripped off, either. I'm also guessing he feels the Iraqis could have handled that a lot better, too. In fact, they probably owe us an apology.
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PELLEY: Did you see the video of Saddam Hussein's . . .#2: Saddam aides hanged, anger at beheading "mishap": "Two of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said, admitting that the head of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution. … Government adviser Bassam al-Husseini said the damage to the body was 'an act of God'."
BUSH: I saw some of it.
PELLEY: . . . execution?
BUSH: Yeah.
PELLEY: What did you think when you saw that?
BUSH: I thought it was discouraging. You know, obviously could have handled this thing a lot better. And I knew it'd be, you know, one of those incidents where it would call into doubt . . . it would create further skepticism. You know, it's important that-- that chapter of Iraqi history be closed. They could have handled it a lot better.
[…]
BUSH: Somebody showed me parts of it. Yeah. I didn't wanna watch the whole thing.
PELLEY: Well, you keep saying "parts of it." What do you mean you didn't wanna watch the whole thing?
BUSH: I wasn't sure what to anticipate beyond the yelling and stuff like that. And I didn't . . .
PELLEY: You didn't wanna see him go through the trapdoor.
BUSH: Yeah. Yes. I didn't.
I'm guessing Bush wouldn't have wanted to see Saddam's half-brother's head getting ripped off, either. I'm also guessing he feels the Iraqis could have handled that a lot better, too. In fact, they probably owe us an apology.
PELLEY: Do you think you owe the Iraqi people an apology for not doing a better job?Wow.
BUSH: That we didn’t do a better job or they didn’t do a better job?
PELLEY: Well, that the United States did not do a better job in providing security after the invasion.
BUSH: Not at all. I am proud of the efforts we did. We liberated that country from a tyrant. I think the Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude, and I believe most Iraqis express that. I mean, the people understand that we’ve endured great sacrifice to help them. That’s the problem here in America. They wonder whether or not there is a gratitude level that’s significant enough in Iraq.
PELLEY: Americans wonder whether . . .
BUSH: Yeah, they wonder whether or not the Iraqis are willing to do hard work necessary to get this democratic experience to survive. That’s what they want.
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