Interview With George W. Bush By Sir Trevor Mcdonalds
Essay Preview: Interview With George W. Bush By Sir Trevor Mcdonalds
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how can we make big lies, huge manipulation and fantastic demogogy? this the chance to see from mr. bush. there he is
sir trevor mcdonald for tonight: mr president, the g8 summit will be chaired by tony blair. he wants to get new international agreements on aid, on trade and on climate change. now, he gave you unstinting support over the war in iraq – can he expect the same support from you over the g8?
president bush: you know, tony blair made decisions on what he thought was best for the people of great britain, and i made decisions on what i thought was best for americans. and i really dont view our relationship as one of quid pro quo. i view our relationship as one of strong allies and friends working together for the common good.
tonight: on the question of tony blair, his support for you on iraq probably damaged him politically at home. supporting his proposals in edinburgh might be one way of paying him back and making sure that he can probably repair some of that damage.
president bush: well, again, i really dont 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.
so i go to the g8 not really trying to make him look bad or good; but i go to the g8 with an agenda that i think is best for our country.
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tonight: the subject of climate change is one of the subjects on the g8 agenda. now, the majority of the worlds leading scientists now agree that climate change is a reality. do you agree with their conclusion?
president bush: i believe it is a significant, long-term issue that weve got to deal with. and thats why my government is dealing with it. we spent i think over $20 billion since ive been the president to not only research the issue of greenhouse gases, but to develop technologies that will enable us to diversify away from fossil fuels. and i look forward to discussing this agenda with not only the g8 leaders, but also with the leaders of developing countries, countries like india and china.
tonight: do you accept that climate change is man-made, sir?
president bush: to a certain extent it is, obviously. i mean, if fossil fuels create greenhouse gases, were burning fossil fuel, as is a lot of other countries. you know, look, there was a debate over kyoto, and i made the decision – as did a lot of other people in this country, by the way – that the kyoto treaty didnt suit our needs. in other words, the kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if i can be blunt.
and so my hope is – and i think the hope of tony blair is – to move beyond the kyoto debate and to collaborate on new technologies that will enable the united states and other countries to diversify away from fossil fuels so that the air will be cleaner and that we have the economic and national security that comes from less dependence on foreign sources of oil…. to that end, were investing in a lot of hydrogen – research on hydrogen-powered automobiles. i believe well be able to burn coal without emitting any greenhouse gases, zero emissions plant.
and so, therefore, weve got to spend money and share technology as to how to move forward.
tonight: but mr president, if i may, the predictions about global warming – and i hear what you say – are very dire. the uks chief scientist says that it probably poses a bigger threat than global terrorism. isnt it, therefore, irresponsible for you to say, as youve done, that you walked away from kyoto and you wont order cuts in carbon dioxide emissions because it would damage americas economy?
president bush: i walked away from kyoto because it would damage americas economy, you bet. it would have destroyed our economy. it was a lousy deal for the american economy. i felt there was a better way. and thats why —
tonight [araya girerek]: but is that putting american industrial economic interests above the global interests of the environment?
president bush: no, i think you can do both. see, i think you can grow your economy and at the same time do a better job of harnessing greenhouse gases. thats exactly what i intend to talk to our partners about. i dont think you can expect any american leader to wreck the economy, nor as an ally and a friend of america and a trading partner of america should you want us to wreck our economy.
on the other hand, what you would want us to do is to use our investment capacity, as well as our research capacity to come up with new ways to power our economy, new ways to energise our economy. and thats precisely what were doing, and i look forward to sharing those ideas.
secondly, the kyoto treaty wouldnt work unless all nations were involved. and as you know, many of the developing nations werent involved in kyoto. so some of the discussions were going to have at the g8, thanks to tony blairs leadership, is to work with india and china as to how to share technology with them, so that we can all work together to clean up the environment, and at the same time have sustained economic growth.
tonight: they are expecting, many countries are expecting international legal binding agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. can they expect your support in doing that?
president bush: if this looks like kyoto, the answer is no. on the other hand, if people want to come together and share technologies and develop technologies and jointly spend – and spend money on research and development, just like the united states is, to help us diversify away from fossil fuels, [i am] more than willing to discuss it.
i know we need more nuclear power in order – nuclear power, after all, is not dependent on fossil fuels and emits no greenhouse gases. i believe were going to be able to have coal-fired plants that have zero emissions. we need to work on carbon sequestration technologies. i mean, theres a lot we can do together and achieve the objective, which a lot of people want, which is the reduction of greenhouse gases, and at the same time, have viable economic growth.
tonight: and because, sir, america remains the biggest polluter.
president bush: america is the largest investor in the