Opinion: About this World War III talk...

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Many Americans, including a certain political blogger, have been so focused on the races to become the next president that they may have been paying somewhat less attention to the activities of the current president. He goes here. He goes there. He wants to hold down spending now.

The current campaign is to hit on Congress for being so slow getting a dozen budget bills passed for the fiscal year that started nearly three weeks ago. This is true and also has the advantage of getting the conversation off this awkward SCHIP veto business.

So to drive this agenda George W. Bush had a news conference yesterday and opened with a statement about this budget business, which could have been the day’s news if it weren’t for these pesky reporters poking for something else with their questions.

Iran and its nuclear ambitions came up. Talk about pesky. And in his answer the president said something about ‘World War III.’ Now, World War II we’re all good with, a terrible event that happened before most Americans were born. So, World War II is O.K. It’s that extra Roman numeral -- the III thing -- that grabs your attention, especially if you were thinking more about the Notre Dame-USC showdown this weekend.

World War III was all over the news and the late-night talk shows. And was kind of scary. Talk of world war in an age of nuclear weapons, terrorism and rogue nations has a way of doing that.

We’ll append what the president actually said in full at the end of this item, and the complete news conference transcript is available here. Bush, it turns out, was trying to focus attention on the risk the world would face if Iran develops a nuclear weapon. But as The Times’ James Gerstenzang tells us, the public anxiety forced the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, to do some ‘splaining today on what the president really meant.

At the news conference in the White House press briefing room yesterday, Bush said ‘we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel.’ That was a reference to Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust happened and whose animosity toward Israel is...

well-established. ‘So,’ Bush continued, ‘I’ve told people that if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have (cq) the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon.’

Bush’s long-running concern about a nuclear-armed Iran has prompted critics to question whether he is paving the way for military action against Iran, much as he built the invasion of Iraq around what turned out to be unfounded fears that Saddam Hussein was producing nuclear weapons. Bush’s comment yesterday, however, went several steps beyond his earlier warnings about Iran -- or perhaps even Iraq, for that matter.

So today at her daily news briefing for reporters, Perino was asked whether Bush was perhaps overstating the dangers. (Her complete statement on Iran is also appended below.)

‘What the President said yesterday wasn’t about what we would do,’ Perino said. ‘It was about them, it was about the Iranians and what they have said and what they have not done in terms of meeting their international obligations. So the President was focusing the world’s attentions on the negative consequences of Iran having a nuclear weapon...

‘The President was making a point that this is a country that has said that they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and the President has long said -- and I think no one would want the President of the United States -- any President of the United States -- to take any option off the table.

‘But what the President also said is that we are going to continue to work this, continue to work this issue diplomatically, we believe it can be resolved diplomatically, we’re tightening the financial sanctions on the country, and that is having an impact.... so what the President was making was a point that Iran with a nuclear weapon would have very negative consequences for the region.’

Which is not right now about World War III. So relax and just watch the game in peace Saturday.

--Andrew Malcolm

President’s News Conference Oct. 17, 2007 statement re: Iran:

Q But you definitively believe Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon?

THE PRESIDENT: I think so long -- until they suspend and/or make it clear that they -- that their statements aren’t real, yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon. And I know it’s in the world’s interest to prevent them from doing so. I believe that the Iranian -- if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be a dangerous threat to world peace.

But this -- we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I’ve told people that if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously. And we’ll continue to work with all nations about the seriousness of this threat. Plus we’ll continue working the financial measures that we’re in the process of doing. In other words, I think -- the whole strategy is, is that at some point in time, leaders or responsible folks inside of Iran may get tired of isolation and say, this isn’t worth it. And to me, it’s worth the effort to keep the pressure on this government.

And secondly, it’s important for the Iranian people to know we harbor no resentment to them. We’re disappointed in the Iranian government’s actions, as should they be. Inflation is way too high; isolation is causing economic pain. This is a country that has got a much better future, people have got a much better -- should have better hope inside Iran than this current government is providing them.

So it’s -- look, it’s a complex issue, no question about it. But my intent is to continue to rally the world to send a focused signal to the Iranian government that we will continue to work to isolate you, in the hopes that at some point in time, somebody else shows up and says it’s not worth the isolation.

Statement by Dana Perino at White House Press Briefing, Oct. 18, 2007.

Q: The President’s World War III comment yesterday has spawned a lot of reaction. Today Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said it was warlike rhetoric that would -- in his words -- ‘jeopardize peace.’ Was the President making an offhand remark there, or are these people reading too much into what he was saying?

MS. PERINO: What the President was doing was focusing the world on the consequences of Iran having a nuclear weapon. This is a country that has a leader who says that his goal is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. They are -- it is a country that is sending its foreign fighters into Iraq that are targeting our troops, killing our troops and killing innocent Iraqis.

They are a state sponsor of terrorism, especially Hezbollah, and the world community through the United Nations Security Council has said that Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. There is a path that Iran could get on to get a civilian nuclear program that we have said that we would help them with if they would walk away from their ambitions to have a nuclear weapon.

What the President said yesterday wasn’t about what we would do. It was about them, it was about the Iranians and what they have said and what they have not done in terms of meeting their international obligations. So the President was focusing the world’s attentions on the negative consequences of Iran having a nuclear weapon, and that is why we are working through the U.N. Security Council to make sure that they meet their Chapter 7 obligations under the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Q So by raising World War III he wasn’t overstating the dangers?

MS. PERINO: The President was making a point that this is a country that has said that they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and the President has long said -- and I think no one would want the President of the United States -- any President of the United States -- to take any option off the table.

But what the President also said is that we are going to continue to work this continue to work this issue diplomatically, we believe it can be resolved diplomatically, we’re tightening the financial sanctions on the country, and that is having an impact. Secretary Rice said so again this morning in comments that she made to the press.

And so what the President was making was a point that Iran with a nuclear weapon would have very negative consequences for the region.