The depths

George Bush did a on-the-record interview with selected reporters including staffers from the National Review today. He seems to have been a bit more free-wheeling than in his more scripted press conferences. Some lowlights:

1. His euphemism for battles: kinetic action.

2. A line that says it all: people should understand that “as long as the War Crimes Act hangs over their heads, they [interrogators] will not take the steps necessary to protect” Americans.

3. A mindset that does not lend itself to admitting mistakes, anywhere in government: He said he had “confidence and faith” in the military leaders, including Gen. Casey, who are on the ground [in Iraq] and not asking for more troops.

Asked what if Gen. Casey is wrong, Bush said, “Then, I picked the wrong general.” Bush emphasized that he’s not a military expert and he’s not in Baghdad, but “I know how to ask the right questions [of the generals].” Again, he said of Casey, “If he’s wrong, I’m wrong.”

4. Tough talk = multilingual curse words: Asked if generals might be inhibited in asking for more troops because it might be such a politically unwelcome request, Bush used a dismissive expletive for the notion. He expressed his conviction that his generals know he has what it takes—briefly showing his fluidity (surely, fluency?) in Spanish (cojones?) —to get them the troops they need even if the politics isn’t favorable. To increase Gen. Casey’s comfort level with him, Bush said he had invited Casey and his wife to spend time with him informally.

UPDATE: Some odd religious remarks by Bush from the same interview are placed in context here and here. And in a more extended excerpt, it's revealed what the dodge on the requested legislation governing the CIA interrogations will be:

[Bush] So the approach is to say to Congress, here is what — step one, U.S. law will define what Article III means; two, please tell us — not "please" — define the techniques that are unacceptable [he corrected this to note it's behaviors not techniques that will be so defined]; three, provide liability protection for those tasked with getting information under the law.

God knows what "technique" will therefore be allowed, as long it's not part of a "behavior."