NEWSMAKER TRANSCRIPTS
TV Programs
Sept. 11, 2006
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LAUER:
Now more of my interview with President Bush. I spoke to him on Friday in the Oval Office of the White House. And President Bush had said nothing is more important to him than keeping the American people safe.
On Sunday, on "Meet the Press," Vice President Cheney added, it's no accident there hasn't been an attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.
Well, in a spirited exchange, I asked the president to respond to those who say his administration may have gone too far, for example, in interrogating terror suspects.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUSH:
But no question, this is a different kind of war, and, no question, they're dangerous. And that's why we need all the tools necessary to protect you. If Al Qaida is calling in here, we need to know. If -- we need to be able to interrogate people within the law.
I gave a speech the other day where I talked about what we learned from people like Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who these interrogators believe was the mastermind of the September 11th. He told us a lot.
People want to get rid of that program. It doesn't make any sense.
So my answer to you is, let's make sure we have the tools necessary to protect you. And I believe we're developing tools within the Constitution to do so. Some people in this country want to get rid of them, and they're wrong. They're wrong.
You can't expect me and people in this government to do what we need to do to protect you and your family if we don't have the tools that we think are necessary...
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH:
... to do so.
LAUER:
And you said "within the law".
BUSH:
Yes.
LAUER:
And, yet, you admitted that there were these CIA secret facilities.
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH:
So what. Why is that not within the law?
LAUER:
The head of Amnesty International says secret sites are against international law.
BUSH:
Well, we just disagree with them. And, plus, my job is to protect you. And most American people, if I said that we had who we think is the mastermind of 9/11, they would say, "Why don't you see if you can't get information out of him without torturing him?" which is what we did.
LAUER:
Were you made...
BUSH:
My job is to protect this country, Matt, and I'm going to within the law. And it gets second-guessed all the time by people who don't live in the United States.
But let me remind you: September the 11th for them was a bad day; for us it was a change of attitude.
LAUER:
These alternative methods you talked about, in terms of extracting information from these suspected terrorists, were you made personally aware of all of the techniques that were used, for example, against a Khalid Sheik Mohammed? And did you approve all of those techniques?
BUSH:
I told our people get information without torture, and was assured by our Justice Department that we were not torturing.
LAUER:
It's been reported with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, he was what they call "waterboarded".
BUSH:
I'm not going to talk about techniques that we use on people. One reason why is because we don't want the enemy to adjust.
The American people need to know we're using techniques within the law to protect them.
You said to me, "How can we be assured you're doing everything it takes to protect the American people?" And I'm saying to you, we're listening to Al Qaida if they're calling this country, and some people want to get rid of that program. We had walls that did not allow criminal investigators and intelligence forces to talk to each other. We've eliminated the laws.
Let finish.
But the best source, according to those who are on the front lines of protecting the American people, is when we pick up somebody off of a battlefield, that we interrogate them, within the law, to get data.
And I would strongly urge people to look at that speech I gave, because I declassified classified information to show how important the information we got from whom we think is the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks.
LAUER:
I don't want to let this "within the law" issue slip, though. I mean, if, in fact there was waterboarding used for Khalid Sheik Mohammed -- and for the viewers, that's basically you strap someone to a board and you make them feel as if they're going to drown; you put them under water.
If that was legal and within the law, why couldn't you do it at Guantanamo? Why'd you have to go to a secret location around the world?
BUSH:
Matt, I'm not going to talk about techniques. And I'm not going to explain to the enemy what we're doing. All I'm telling you is that -- you've asked me whether or not we're doing things to protect the American people, and I want the American people to know we are doing so.
LAUER:
At some point, Mr. President, if techniques, these alternate -- alternative techniques...
BUSH:
Matt, I'm not going to talk about...
LAUER:
I'm not going to ask you to specifically say about...
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH:
OK.
LAUER:
But if they are used, are you at all concerned that at some point, even if you get results, there is a blurring the lines of -- between ourselves and the people we're trying to protect us against?
BUSH:
Matt, I'm just telling you what this government has done is to take steps necessary to protect you and your family. You asked me about your family -- and you represent a lot of other people -- and the best information we can get is from people we take off the battlefield so we can act on it, so we can stop plots before they happen.
And whatever we have done is legal. That's what I'm saying. It's in the law. We had lawyers look at it and say, "Mr. President, this is lawful." That's all I can tell you.
I'm not going to tell you specifically what's done, because I don't want the enemy to adjust. We're at war. These are people that want to come and kill your families. And the best way to protect you is to get information. And I'm confident the American people understand why we've done that.
You see, we've acted on information they've given us to prevent attacks. And these are real. This isn't make-believe. These are attacks that were coming to hurt the American people again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAUER:
President George W. Bush speaking with me Friday in the Oval Office at the White House.
List of Speakers
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR