Shock and Awe Page #10

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Sir, how would you answer your

critics who say that they...

They think this is somehow

personal?

As Senator Kennedy put it

tonight...

he said your fixation

with Saddam Hussein...

is making the world a more

dangerous place.

And as you prepare the American

people for the possibility...

of military conflict, could you

share with us...

any of the scenarios your

advisors have shared...

with you about worst-case

scenarios?

You make sure the... this country

knows what's going on out there.

- Yeah?

- I will.

I swore to protect and defend

the Constitution.

He has weapons of mass

destruction...

and he has used weapons

of mass destruction.

He has trained and financed...

al Qaeda-type organizations

before.

I take the threat seriously,

and I'll deal with the threat.

I hope it can be done

peacefully.

They hate what we stand for.

We love freedom, and we're

not changing.

REPORTER:
Mr. President,

millions of Americans can...

recall a time when leaders from

both parties set this country..

on a mission of regime change

in Vietnam.

50,000 Americans died.

The regime is still there in

Hanoi and it hasn't harmed...

or threatened a single American

in 30 years...

since the war ended.

What can you say tonight, sir,

to the sons and daughters...

of the Americans who served in

Vietnam to assure them that...

you will not lead this country

down a similar path in Iraq?

BUSH:
That's a great question.

No doubt, there's risks with

any military operation.

I know that.

It's a good thing he can draw

on all that experience he got...

while not serving in the

National Guard.

But it's very clear what we

intend to do.

And our mission won't change.

It could last, you know, six

days, six weeks...

I doubt six months.

There's a lot of money to pay

for this...

that doesn't have to be

U.S. taxpayer money.

We're dealing with a country

that can really finance...

its own reconstruction,

and relatively soon.

There will always be some

uncertainty...

about how quickly he can

acquire nuclear weapons...

but we don't want the smoking

gun to be a mushroom cloud.

RUSSERT:
Do you think the

America people...

are prepared for a long,

costly, and bloody battle...

with significant American

casualties?

I don't think it's likely

to unfold that way, Tim...

because I really do believe we

will be greeted as liberators.

BLITZER:
Six weeks after the

war had begun, the President...

is set to deliver a very

carefully worded speech...

on a carrier in the Pacific.

BUSH:
My fellow Americans,

major combat operations...

in Iraq have ended.

In the battle of Iraq,

the United States...

and our allies have prevailed.

(LOUD EXPLOSION)

(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)

I want to go down there.

They were the first to die.

Were you there?

Thank you.

Thank you, son.

(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES)

Jonathan, how did it feel,

therefore...

to be the lone holdouts in this

pursuit of truth and fact?

It was very lonely and what

made it actually one...

of the ironies is...

that every time we would write

something...

the White House would say

nothing, because we realized...

after a while that that would

have been the best...

advertising for our stories we

could have possibly asked for.

There's a problem with

journalism...

in Washington, which is access.

And The New York Times and

others had access to the top...

officials who were spinning

this line.

We talked to those people,

as well...

but most of our reporting,

Christiane...

was with intelligence,

military...

and diplomatic mid-level...

- Lower level?

- Lower level.

The types journalists don't

normally talk to or go after.

Can I just give a little

credit, also, to the man...

who was our boss at the time,

John Walcott.

Higher levels of

civilization...

must depend even more

heavily...

on a conscientious respect for

the importance of honesty...

and clarity in reporting the

facts and out of stubborn...

concern for accuracy in

determining what the facts are.

We need to find some way

to cover the world so that...

we know what's happening

out there...

that we know the truth

about it...

so we can avoid mistakes...

mistakes like Iraq.

The intelligence was

what it was.

You know, people like me

couldn't make it up.

STEWART:
The intelligence

wasn't what it was...

and not everybody got it wrong.

Almost everybody did,

except for Knight Ridder.

(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)

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