September 7th, 2007
11:29 AM ET
9 years ago

Bush on Iraq: 'We're kicking ass'

President Bush will give his progress report on Iraq next week, based on information from Gen. David Petraeus.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - When President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq last weekend, he made clear he was pleased with what he saw.

"The security situation is changing," Bush told reporters during the visit. "There's more work to be done. But reconciliation is taking place."

But according to the Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, the president gave a more-to-the-point assessment to Australia Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile.

"We're kicking ass," Bush said to Vaile Tuesday, according the Herald, after the deputy prime minister inquired about his trip to Iraq.

On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino would not confirm or deny the reported comment. (Related Video: Jack Cafferty reads your e-mails on Bush's blunt talk)

This isn't the first blunt comment Bush was overheard making to a world leader. At last year's G8 summit, a live microphone picked up the president telling then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the United Nations needs to "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s**t."

- CNN's Elaine Quijano contributed to this report


Filed under: President Bush
soundoff (712 Responses)
  1. Brian, Bennington VT

    Yeah, right.

    Mission Accomplished.

    Once a year this incompetent boob comes out and announces new successes in Iraq, and once a year the stenographers at CNN loyally pass his nonsense on.

    Don't you think people notice that the same things were said in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006?

    "The Iraqi Army is being trained up to take over security."

    "Progress at political reconciliation is being made."

    "The insurgency is in its last throes."

    "Bring it on."

    "We're kicking ass."

    September 6, 2007 05:34 pm at 5:34 pm |
  2. L. Tozzo

    Yet another example that this president is delusional....

    September 6, 2007 05:34 pm at 5:34 pm |
  3. Bill, Streamwood, IL

    Is George Bush taking some sort of special medication of which we citizens of the United States should be told?

    If so, how can I get some?

    September 6, 2007 05:34 pm at 5:34 pm |
  4. Kit Prate, Montello, Wisconsin

    "We're kicking ass!" That's going to look really great emblazoned on the wall of W's Presidential Library. Maybe directly opposite from the shelf containing his collection of "cowboy" stories and the other two books he's read.

    September 6, 2007 05:37 pm at 5:37 pm |
  5. Johnny Chicago

    Can someone please assasinate him?

    September 6, 2007 05:37 pm at 5:37 pm |
  6. Phillip Page Fredericktown, Missouri

    Impeach the idiot.

    September 6, 2007 05:37 pm at 5:37 pm |
  7. Diane Doyle Lake Arrowhead CA

    So "presidential."

    September 6, 2007 05:37 pm at 5:37 pm |
  8. Ace, Orange Count California

    If "kicking ass" means thousands of innocent people are dying because of his greed, then we must be kicking ass.

    September 6, 2007 05:38 pm at 5:38 pm |
  9. Jarred, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

    I'm glad to hear that the President is so down to earth and can tell it like it is.

    September 6, 2007 05:38 pm at 5:38 pm |
  10. Logan, Huntington, WV

    He's the president of the most powerful nation on Earth and he says, "We're kicking ass," like he's talking about a Texas high school football team.

    September 6, 2007 05:38 pm at 5:38 pm |
  11. Ross, Manlius, NY

    Another crude comment from a fool cowboy who causes other people to die, but who can't even prove he served his time in the military!

    September 6, 2007 05:38 pm at 5:38 pm |
  12. Becky, Euless, TX

    Really? How many Troops have died in this senseless war again?

    September 6, 2007 05:41 pm at 5:41 pm |
  13. bvt, Elko, Nevada

    Whose ass? The American peoples'?

    September 6, 2007 05:41 pm at 5:41 pm |
  14. Arkay, Detrot, MI

    "We're kicking ass,", "Fantastic Freedom Institute" and "replenish ol' coffers". Can he get any more adolescent?

    September 6, 2007 05:41 pm at 5:41 pm |
  15. John, Green Bay Wisconsin

    and people wonder why the US is not taken seriously in the world, when our 'leader' is making statements that sound like something out of a bad action movie. He's not the brightest guy.

    September 6, 2007 05:44 pm at 5:44 pm |
  16. Mark, Holmen, Wisconsin

    Very classy, Mr. President. We need less tough talking cowboy hyperbole and more reason and logic in your approach to this mess you have created.

    September 6, 2007 05:45 pm at 5:45 pm |
  17. Josh Maloney, Oakland, CA

    No, Mr. President. We are not "kicking ass" in Iraq. Only a moron would make a comment like this. I rest my point.

    September 6, 2007 05:51 pm at 5:51 pm |
  18. Jim Arnold, Germantown, TN

    Did we hear that right, George? "Kicking ass?"
    Our men and women certainly have had successes, but your deceitful and toxic policies are to blame for the thousands of dead and wounded that were sent their because of your lies. And let's not forgot what you have done to Iraq and its citizens–hundreds of thousands dead and wounded, millions displaced, sectarian violence that is reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Childhoods robbed and lives forever altered because you like to "Kick Ass."

    Kicking ass, indeed! What a misguided simpleton we have as president. My fingers won't allow me to even spell president (this one anyway) with a capital p. W, you are disgraceful.

    Jim Arnold

    September 6, 2007 05:51 pm at 5:51 pm |
  19. Kris, Toronto

    There's that cowboy we all love so much.

    Kicking who's ass, exactly? The American taxpayer's ass?

    September 6, 2007 05:52 pm at 5:52 pm |
  20. Hank, Palm Springs, CA

    Would like to say I am surprised ... but I am not. This has to be the most foolish president in the history of the United States.

    September 6, 2007 05:52 pm at 5:52 pm |
  21. Justin, St Petersburg, FL

    "Kicking Ass"?

    This guy is unbelievable. All the people that have died. All the billions of dollars that have been wasted. All the credibility America has lost, and this is our PRESIDENT's bonehead summation?

    501 days, that's all I can look forward to.

    September 6, 2007 05:56 pm at 5:56 pm |
  22. Jay Austin, Texas

    This yahoo will be remembered as the Worst President Ever. He is such an incredible embarrassment.

    September 6, 2007 05:57 pm at 5:57 pm |
  23. Witheld

    I really enjoy how the headline is "We're kicking ass" yet CNN can't even validate if the President said the line. More liberal headlines....

    September 6, 2007 05:58 pm at 5:58 pm |
  24. Henry Tucker, Ga

    Thank You President Bush for continuing to stand up for our soldiers – unlike these weak-knee'd liberals that continually provide aid and comfort to our enemies.

    Perhaps Bin Laden in his upcoming video will help guide the American people in knowing which democratic candidate he and his fellow terrorists support.

    September 6, 2007 05:58 pm at 5:58 pm |
  25. dan, Denver, CO

    Our president the third grader. How freakin embarrassing can this clown get?

    I guess it goes a long ways toward explaining why he kept reading My Pet Goat after he was told "our nation is under attack". Embarrasing...

    September 6, 2007 05:58 pm at 5:58 pm |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29