It’s been more than six years since George W. Bush left the White House, after two terms that have been etched into the collective memory of Americans thanks to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since his departure, Bush has kept his distance from American politics. He has dedicated his time to cultivating the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Texas, home to the Bush Presidential Library and Museum and the Bush Institute; various globe-spanning projects; writing two books (“Decision Points,” about his presidency, and “41: A Portrait of My Father,” about George H. W. Bush); and to painting.
Israel Hayom’s Amos Regev and Boaz Bismuth recently interviewed Bush in Las Vegas.
When you first entered the White House, did you entertain the possibility that you would be a wartime leader?
The first time I ran for president [in 2000] there was no war. That the U.S. would be attacked crossed no one’s mind. No one thought that 3,000 would die as a result of thugs willing to use our own assets to murder people. Therefore, once that happened we began to think about what other ways they could hurt us.
It took us a while to figure out who they were and where they were, but we were relentless in pursuit. A lot of brave people were on their trail and I told them, “Let’s go.” There was no hesitation whatsoever about bringing them to justice. Initially everyone was united – 90 percent of people approved of what we were doing. And of course, over time…war is very difficult; people lose their lives; stories get out. But I felt leaders had to be relentless in a smart way, relentless because it is hard to ask a special-ops soldier to take enormous risks if the president himself was not being firm in his resolve. I don’t think you can lead people if there is self-pity and you keep telling yourself ‘”oh, this is too hard.” But it was not in my nature to yield to an enemy that wanted to kill our citizens.”
Is the war on terror currently being waged in the proper way?
I made a decision, as you know, not to criticize my successors, with an “s.” I am going to be around a little bit longer – there is going to be more than one successor. The temptation is to try to rewrite history or to make yourself look good by criticizing someone else. I think that is a mistake. I don’t think that is what leadership is all about. I know how hard the job is. I didn’t like it when former leaders criticized me when I was president. Some did, so I decided not to do the same.”
Is it possible to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq without boots on the ground?
The president will have to make that determination. My position was that you need to have boots on the ground. As you know, I made a very difficult decision. A fair number of people in our country were saying that it was impossible to defeat al Qaeda – which is ISIS as far as I am concerned. They said I must get out of Iraq. But I chose the opposite; I sent 30,000 more troops as opposed to 30,000 fewer. I think history will show that al Qaeda in Iraq was defeated. And so I chose the path of boots on the ground. We will see whether or not our government adjusts to the realities on the ground.
In your book you describe an incident at Ground Zero where people called on you to pursue the terrorists and eliminate them, whatever it took. Are the American people still willing to make that sacrifice?