Useruser666
10-20-2004, 04:46 PM
http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/article291703.ece (http://)
NEWS IN ENGLISH
BUSH:
«Sweden has no army»
Carin Pettersson 18.10.04 11:54
At a meeting at the White House in 2002, it was suggested to send Swedish forces to the Middle East. It was something President Bush could not comprehend; «Sweden has no army.»
(Foto: AP/Scanpix)
The story was printed in the Sunday’s issue of the New York Times and reprinted in the Swedish daily Dagens Næringsliv. In the article, author Ron Suskind explained how Bush has developed a religious based self-confidence, something which he illustrates with this until now unpublicized anecdote.
At a meeting at the White House, it was suggested that Sweden should send peace keeping forces to the Middle East.
According to the article, Bush could not comprehend how this would be possible.
«Sweden has no army,» stated the president.
Suggested Sweden
The source of the story is Senator Joe Biden, the man who has been mentioned as a candidate for the Secretary of State position for presidential candidate John Kerry. They were discussing the best possible way of executing a peace plan for the Middle East. The problem was that forces form countries like Germany and France would not be accepted by the parties in the conflict. It was suggested sending forces from one of the Scandinavian countries:
«For example Sweden,» said Democrat Tom Lantos.
Allegedly President Bush looked at him.
«I don’t understand why you are talking about Sweden,» Bush said. «They’re neutral. They don’t have an army.»
Lantos thought the President heard him wrong and thought that he talked about Switzerland, which, by the way, also has an army, and stressed that he was referring to Sweden. However, President Bush, who had visited Gothenburg six months earlier, did not back down:
«No, no, Sweden doesn’t have an army.»
According to the article in the New York Times, it became dead quiet in the room until someone changed the topic.
No room for doubt
Suskind wrote the book «The Price of Loyalty» based on the former Minister of Finance Paul O’Neill’s experiences during two years in the White House. The book gave an impression of a smart, but inexperienced president who was not curious about the rest of the world.
Bush allegedly some weeks later contacted Lantos and admitted; «You were right, Sweden does have an army.»
Suskind’s point is that Bush would rather than admit his mistakes, be viewed as strong and without any doubts. Both Democrats and Republicans, who have been interviewed about this, state that President Bush never leaves any room for doubt or reflection.
NEWS IN ENGLISH
BUSH:
«Sweden has no army»
Carin Pettersson 18.10.04 11:54
At a meeting at the White House in 2002, it was suggested to send Swedish forces to the Middle East. It was something President Bush could not comprehend; «Sweden has no army.»
(Foto: AP/Scanpix)
The story was printed in the Sunday’s issue of the New York Times and reprinted in the Swedish daily Dagens Næringsliv. In the article, author Ron Suskind explained how Bush has developed a religious based self-confidence, something which he illustrates with this until now unpublicized anecdote.
At a meeting at the White House, it was suggested that Sweden should send peace keeping forces to the Middle East.
According to the article, Bush could not comprehend how this would be possible.
«Sweden has no army,» stated the president.
Suggested Sweden
The source of the story is Senator Joe Biden, the man who has been mentioned as a candidate for the Secretary of State position for presidential candidate John Kerry. They were discussing the best possible way of executing a peace plan for the Middle East. The problem was that forces form countries like Germany and France would not be accepted by the parties in the conflict. It was suggested sending forces from one of the Scandinavian countries:
«For example Sweden,» said Democrat Tom Lantos.
Allegedly President Bush looked at him.
«I don’t understand why you are talking about Sweden,» Bush said. «They’re neutral. They don’t have an army.»
Lantos thought the President heard him wrong and thought that he talked about Switzerland, which, by the way, also has an army, and stressed that he was referring to Sweden. However, President Bush, who had visited Gothenburg six months earlier, did not back down:
«No, no, Sweden doesn’t have an army.»
According to the article in the New York Times, it became dead quiet in the room until someone changed the topic.
No room for doubt
Suskind wrote the book «The Price of Loyalty» based on the former Minister of Finance Paul O’Neill’s experiences during two years in the White House. The book gave an impression of a smart, but inexperienced president who was not curious about the rest of the world.
Bush allegedly some weeks later contacted Lantos and admitted; «You were right, Sweden does have an army.»
Suskind’s point is that Bush would rather than admit his mistakes, be viewed as strong and without any doubts. Both Democrats and Republicans, who have been interviewed about this, state that President Bush never leaves any room for doubt or reflection.