Bush high on India
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Backing a place for India in the UN Security Council, former US president George W. Bush Saturday said he was "incredibly optimistic" about the future of bilateral ties and stressed that the two countries would together fight "an ideological battle against extremism".
Almost a year after he left the White House after helping transform the world's once estranged democracies into engaged partners, Bush turned on his charm offensive and said his admiration for India, "a modern and vibrant nation", had only grown stronger.
"Life has changed, but some things haven't changed like my respect for India," Bush said at the Hindustan Times leadership summit.
In a speech punctuated by witticisms that drew laughter from the audience, Bush underlined that common interests and values of democracy and freedom bind the two nations and said he had come to India as "a pilgrim and an admirer". "America feels special kinship with the people of largest democracy."
On his first major visit abroad since his retirement, Bush confessed his admiration for India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with whom he struck a landmark nuclear deal that was to liberate the two countries from a past marked by mutual suspicion.
"I really, really like your prime minister. He is a wise leader and really good man and I am proud to call him a friend," Bush said. Describing Bush "a great friend of India", Manmohan Singh had Friday hosted a lunch at his residence for him and thanked him for bringing the nuclear deal to fruition.
"(By signing the deal) the US recognised India's nuclear weapon's programme. It is India's passport to the world," Bush said, while describing the accord as "historic".
Bush, who was here on a two-day visit, left soon after his interaction at the summit.
Underlining his confidence about the course of the relationship under the Barack Obama presidency, Bush said the US and India should have one of the best relationships in the world.
Looking relaxed, Bush, who was at his humorous best, said the global recession occurred when "the Wall Street got drunk and we got the hangover". He added that India was leading the world out of recession.
He backed India's claim for a seat in the UN Security Council, but indicated that it's going to be a "complicated process" due to global politics.
"We must see the possibility of a seat for India in the United Nations Security Council. India has arrived as a strong democratic country in the world. It is a tolerant, peaceful and multi-religious democracy."
He, however, added that before India's case is considered, fundamental questions about the nature of change and the future composition of the council need to be addressed.
After helming the US for eight long years, Bush defended the war on Iraq and Afghanistan that created much hostility against the US in the Muslim world, saying it was "an ideological struggle" between extremism and terrorism on the one hand and freedom and democracy on the other.
India and the US need to work together to win the battle against extremists in Afghanistan and elsewhere, Bush said, adding that it was an ideological struggle against people who murder the innocents.
He said 9/11 in US and 26/11 in India were both moments of "clarity", impelling the two nations tackle such acts of terror. "The extremists hate our vision of human rights, prosperity and peace," he added. "Both our nations are engaged in an ideological struggle."
The two countries sought "to advance our values of liberty, tolerance and hope".
Recalling how one-time enemy Japan became an ally of the US, Bush said he was confident that the Middle East would also go the same way one day.
Responding to a question about his unpopularity in the Muslim world, Bush said he would appeal to Muslims not to let "the propagandists hijack their religion to murder innocent people".
Middle East will be an ally of US: Bush
Recalling how one-time enemy Japan became an ally of the US, former US president George W. Bush Saturday expressed confidence that the Middle East would also go the same way one day.
Speaking at a leadership conclave organised here by the Hindustan Times, Bush recalled his conversation with then Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi immediately after 9/11 when the latter said that Japan and the US will work together to fight the ideology of hatred and advance the cause of freedom.
Bush was struck by Koizumi's suggestion, which reminded him of his father (George Bush Senior) fighting against the Japanese forces after Japan invaded Pearl Harbour in 1941.
"Sixty years ago, Japan was an enemy. It is now an ally of the US. Democracy proved to be transformative; an enemy had become an ally," he said.
The same thing is going to happen in the Middle East, he said about a region that recorded a surge of anti-Americanism during the Bush presidency.
"The Middle East too will one day become an ally," said Bush, who is reviled in the Muslim world for his invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush also defended the war on Iraq and Afghanistan that created much hostility against the US in the Muslim world, saying they were essential to advance the cause of liberty in the world.
Responding to a question about his unpopularity in the Muslim world, Bush said he would appeal to Muslims not to let "the propagandists hijack their religion to murder innocent people".
"Please don't let the propagandists tell the people that George Bush and America hate you," Bush said.
"I hate people who hijack a great religion to murder innocent people," he said.
US friendship with Pakistan in India's interest: Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Amid concerns in India over continuing American aid to Pakistan, former US president George W. Bush Saturday said it was in New Delhi's interest that Washington has "a friendship" with Islamabad.
"It is in India's interest that the US has a friendship with Pakistan," Bush said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here.
He was responding to a question over the billions of dollars given to Pakistan by the US as aid which is suspected to have been used against building a war machinery against Indian interests.
Bush recalled that after 9/11 attacks, then US secretary of state Colin Powell had spoken to Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf and asked him to choose between the Taliban and the US.
Bush said Pakistan chose the US and said extremists were a threat to their own democracy.
Asserting that force alone can deal with such terrorists, Bush said: "I don't think you can negotiate with extremists."
"It's in our interest to stay engaged with Pakistan," he stressed.
Bush said both the US and India were engaged in an ideological battle against extremists who kill innocents.
Expressing his "deepest condolences" to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their families, Bush said like 9/11 in America, the attack served as a "moment of clarity" in India.
"Both our nations are engaged in an ideological struggle," he said. The two countries seek to "advance our values of liberty, tolerance and hope".
World is better off without Saddam: Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Defending the war on Iraq that created much hostility against the US in the Muslim world, former US president George W. Bush Saturday said the world was "much better off without Saddam Hussein" and asked Muslims not to allow terrorists to hijack their religion.
"The world is much better off without Saddam Hussein. There is no question about that. Hussein was a threat to the US," Bush said here at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
He was responding to a question on whether he regretted his decision to invade Iraq in 2003 on grounds that Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction.
"He was a brutal dictator. He used weapons of mass destruction against his own people. He was not letting weapon inspectors in," he said.
"Regime change in Iraq was the official policy of the US much before I became the president," Bush said candidly, adding that as president he was forced to take the tough decision to invade Iraq for the cause of freeing Iraqi people from brutal tyranny.
Responding to a question about his unpopularity in the Muslim world, Bush said he would appeal to Muslims not to let "the propagandists hijack their religion to murder innocent people".
"Please don't let the propagandists tell the people that George Bush and America hate you," Bush said.
"I hate people who hijack a great religion to murder innocent people," he said.
Bush had famously said that despite having the world's second largest Muslim population, not a single Indian Muslim had joined the Al Qaeda.
Nuclear deal is India's passport to the world: Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Former US president George W. Bush, who played an instrumental role in the signing of the India-US nuclear deal, Saturday said the pact was New Delhi's "passport to the world".
Calling the accord "historic", Bush said at the HT Leadership Summit here that it would provide India an opportunity to get energy without making pollution.
"(By signing the deal) the US recognised India's nuclear weapon's programme. It is India's passport to the world," said Bush.
"In 2006 we signed a historic accord.... India has now the opportunity to get energy without making pollution," said Bush.
The framework of the India-US civilian nuclear agreement was a July 18, 2005 joint statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then US president Bush. Under it, India agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and place all its civil nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. In exchange, the US agreed to work towards full civil nuclear cooperation with India.
26/11 moment of clarity for India: Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Expressing his "deepest condolences" for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their families, former US president George W. Bush Saturday termed the daring attack a "moment of clarity" for India.
Like 9/11 in America, "26/11 served as a moment of clarity" in India, he said at the annual HT Leadership Summit here.
Addressing the summit, he noted that the anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks was round the corner.
On Nov 26, 2008, 10 armed terrorists sneaked into Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country, and unleashed mayhem that left over 170 people, including many foreign nationals, dead. The audacious attack has often been compared to the attack on the twin towers of World Trade Centre in the US in 2001.
Coming to India for the first time after retirement, Bush said the fight against terrorism was common to both the countries.
"Both nations (India and US) were engaged in ideological struggle against fundamentalists. They hate our lives, our vision for human rights... we should use our intelligence to find them, break up their network and bring them to justice," Bush said.
The former US president stressed that the best way to combat terrorism would be to promote values of justice and liberty.
India, US need to work together in Afghanistan: Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) India and the US, the world's largest democracies, need to work together to win the battle against extremists in Afghanistan, former US president George W. Bush said here Saturday.
Addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here, Bush also paid handsome tributes to Indian democracy and Prime Minister Mamohan Singh, calling him a "really good man".
"The US and India should work together to win the war in Afghanistan," Bush said in a brief speech made before a select audience.
"If the Taliban, Al Qaeda and extremists are allowed to take over Afghanistan, they would have a safe haven again," he warned.
Bush called India "a modern and vibrant nation" and said the US and India were united by common interests.
"I really, really like your prime minister. I am proud to call him a friend," he said, adding that Manmohan Singh was "really a good man".
He said he had great respect for India and said the two countries enjoyed a "special kinship".
"India is a modern and vibrant nation," the former president said. He added that India was "a tolerant, peaceful and multi-religious democracy" with a "dynamic middle class" and "a force for stability in one of the world's most strategic places".
Bush referred to the India-US nuclear deal signed during his presidency and said Washington "recognises India's nuclear weapons programme".
He said India was helping the world to recover from the world's financial crisis.
Bush paid his "deepest condolences" to the victims and the families who suffered in the Mumbai terror attack of November 2008 that left some 170 people dead.
He also referred to the terrorist assaults on the Indian parliament and on the Indian embassy in Kabul.
"Both our nations are engaged in an ideological struggle," he said. The two countries sought "to advance our values of liberty, tolerance and hope".
He said the US and India should have one of the best relationships in the world. "It is not going to happen immediately."
Life has changed, but not my respect for India: Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Turning on the charm offensive, former US president George W. Bush said here Friday that he had been looking forward to coming to India and "saying namaste".
"I am an old retired guy, so I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts with you," Bush said in his opening remarks at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
Amid much laughter from the audience, he said about his days since retiring as US president: "I suggested Laura take up cooking, she suggested I take up washing dishes."
He said he was using his free time to write a book. "I am giving a fair number of speeches and incredibly I get paid for it."
"Life has changed but some things haven't changed... like my respect for India," Bush added.
Referring to the commonalities between the people of the two giant democracies, the US and India, he said: "Our nations are united by our interests, our values... We share a great appreciation for your robust and free press."
"I really, really like your prime minister," Bush said about Manmohan Singh.
Bush expresses 'deepest condolences' for 26/11 victims
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Former US president George W. Bush Saturday expressed his "deepest condolences" to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and their families.
Addressing the HT Leadership Summit here, he noted that the anniversary of the 26/11 terror attacks was round the corner.
Like 9/11 in America, 26/11 served as a "moment of clarity" in India, he said.
Pointing out that both the US and India had held democratic elections this year, he congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress on their electoral victory.
Obama election 'was uplifting moment': Bush
New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Barack Obama's election as president of the US was an "uplifting moment", his predecessor and Republican rival George W. Bush said here Saturday.
The election of Obama, a Democrat and the US' first African American president, "was an uplifting moment for our democracy... not my first choice, but I wish him every success", Bush said amid laughter at the HT Leadership Summit here.
IANS
