George W. Bush: Trending quotes (page 13)

“…Hunt asked me the question one week before the campaign, and basically it was, are you going to do something about Rumsfeld and the Vice President? And my answer was, they're going to stay on. And the reason why is I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign. And so the only way to answer that question and to get you on to another question was to give you that answer.”

George W. Bush

The President's reasoning for telling reporters in the Oval Office that the current Defense Secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, would be staying on, although Bush had already selected potential replacements. Given at a news conference http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061108-2.html (November 8, 2006)
2000s, 2006

War , Way , Question , Decision

“When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.”

George W. Bush

Spoken at a September 13, 2001 meeting with the four senators from New York and Virginia. Reported in "A President Finds His True Voice", Newsweek (September 24, 2001)
2000s, 2001

Decision

“…The battle against the Sunnis - Sunni extremists - some of them Saddamists, some of there are al Qaeda, but all of them aiming to try to drive the United States out of Iraq before the job is done.”

George W. Bush

Press conference New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/washington/20text-bush.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1166734888-gpZmokkpM7BcfwqOc9fJqQ WZZM News http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/grmetro_article.aspx?storyid=67311 WhiteHouse.gov http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061220-1.html (December 20, 2006)
2000s, 2006

“One of the things I've found in Congress is that most people recognize that failure would be a disaster for the United States. And in that I'm the decision maker, I had to come up with a way forward that precluded disaster. In other words, I had to think about what's likely to work. And so I worked with our military and I worked with Secretary Gates to come up with a plan that is likely to succeed. And the implementor of that plan is going to be General Petraeus. And my call to the Congress is, is that I know there is skepticism and pessimism, and that they are -- some are condemning a plan before it's even had a chance to work. And they have an obligation and a serious responsibility, therefore, to put up their own plan as to what would work. I've listened a lot to members of Congress. I've listened carefully to their suggestions. I have picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed, because I understand, like many in Congress understand, success is very important for the security of the country.”

George W. Bush

Press Conference http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070126.html introducing General David Petraeus as the new commander of the Multinational Force Iraq (January 26, 2007)
2000s, 2007

People , Way , Failure , Understanding

“But all in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me.”

George W. Bush

12/21/2001 White House release: President Highlights Administration's First-Year Accomplishments http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011221-2.html
2000s, 2001

“We're fighting on many fronts, and Iraq is now the central front. Saddam holdouts and foreign terrorists are trying desperately to undermine Iraq's progress and to throw that country into chaos. The terrorists in Iraq believe their attacks on innocent people will weaken our resolve. That's what they believe. They believe that America will run from a challenge. They're mistaken. Americans are not the running kind.”

George W. Bush

Speech in Portsmouth, NH http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031009-7.html (October 9, 2003) These lines have sometimes been attributed to Paul Wolfowitz, who was reported to have said them the next day, perhaps quoting the President's speech.
2000s, 2003

People , Fight , Country

“I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower. The TV was obviously on. I used to fly myself and I said, "There's one terrible pilot."”

George W. Bush

Quoted in Elisabeth Bumiller (2001-12-05) "A Nation Challenged: The President" New York Times. Colloquial English allows Bush's remark to be interpreted as "I saw that an airplane had hit the tower."
2000s, 2001

Waiting , Flying

“We got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

George W. Bush

Press conference http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071017.html (17 October 2007).
2000s, 2007

War , People , World , Knowledge

“My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

George W. Bush

2000s, 2003, Invasion of Iraq (March 2003)

People , World

“In the 21st century, the world needs a confident and effective United Nations. This unique institution should build on its successes and improve its performance. Where there is inefficiency and corruption, it must be corrected. Where there are bloated bureaucracies, they must be streamlined. Where members fail to uphold their obligations, there must be strong action. For example, there should be an immediate review of the Human Rights Council, which has routinely protected violators of human rights. There should be a stronger effort to help the people of Burma live free of the repression they have suffered for too long. And all nations, especially members of the Security Council, must act decisively to ensure that the government of Sudan upholds its commitment to address the violence in Darfur.”

George W. Bush

2000s, 2008, Address to the United Nations General Assembly (September 2008)

People , World , Confidence , Decision

“Defending our nation is just the beginning of our challenge. My third goal is to take advantage of a tremendous opportunity – given few nations in history – to extend the current peace into the far realm of the future. A chance to project America’s peaceful influence, not just across the world, but across the years.”

George W. Bush

1990s, A Period of Consequences (September 1999)

World , Peace , History , Chance

“In a single instant, we realized that this will be a decisive decade in the history of liberty, that we've been called to a unique role in human events. Rarely has the world faced a choice more clear or consequential.”

George W. Bush

2000s, 2002, State of the Union address (January 2002)

World , History , Decision

“And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence.”

George W. Bush

Speech in Springfield, Ohio, September 27, 2004 http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040927-4.html
2000s, 2004

“(He) … said he'd like to be there but "One, I'm too old to be out there, and two, they would notice me."”

George W. Bush

Speaking to military in Afghanistan, " Bush's Battlefield Envy http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/09/17/BL2007091700952_pf.html" Washington Post, (September 17, 2007)
2000s, 2007