Bush regrets gung-ho language
US president George Bush admitted he had misgivings for two of his most famous expressions, “Bring ’em on” over Iraqis attacking US troops, and his vow to get Osama bin Laden “dead or alive”.
During a round-table interview with reporters from 14 American newspapers, Bush acknowledged that his tough language “had an unintended consequence”.
On July 2, 2003, two months after he had declared an end to major combat in Iraq, Bush promised US forces would stay until the creation of a free government there. To those who would attack US forces in an attempt to deter that mission, Bush said: “My answer is, bring ’em on.”
But last night Bush aid: “Sometimes, words have consequences you don’t intend them to mean.
“’Bring ’em on’ is the classic example, when I was really trying to rally the troops and make it clear to them that I fully understood, you know, what a great job they were doing. And those words had an unintended consequence. It kind of, some interpreted it to be defiance in the face of danger. That certainly wasn’t the case.”
