During a fascinating interview with a reporter from the Arab television network, Al Arabiya, President Bush clearly spelled out his position on Iran, and whether or not the US is now planning to attack.
According to this interview transcript, President Bush said Iran must stop enriching uranium. If it does so, the US will be willing to engage in formal talks and negotiations.
He said the growing storm of leaks, theories and claims that the United States is gearing up to attack Iran are just "gossip".
"I would call that empty propaganda. Evidently, there's a lot of gossip … that try to scare people about me personally or my country or what we stand for. And that kind of gossip is just what it is. It's gossip. It's baseless gossip."
President Bush also acknowledged that he is widely seen as a man of war in the Middle East, and across the world, and that the United States is convincingly depicted as a violent, aggressive nation, picking fights and attacking sovereign nations.
"I understand the images of my country have been distorted," President Bush said. "And I understand people say things about me personally that simply aren't true."
"...the radicals have done a good job of propagandizing. In other words, they've spread the word that this really isn't peaceful people versus radical people or terrorists, this is really about the America not liking Islam."President Bush insisted this was not true.
More On This Remarkable Interview Soon
