A Talk With President Peres

We never said we were going to wipe anybody off the map, but they have.

It's not a problem of nuclear capability but of political intention.

. . . I think today [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is becoming more and more a problem for the world, not only for Israel. . . . Sooner or later the international community will take the necessary measures, which don't have to be military.

You told me once that you've known every U.S. president since Harry Truman.

Yes.

So, how does this president impress you?

I think Bush did something very courageous, and that was to topple Saddam Hussein. Imagine today that we would have in the Middle East both Ahmadinejad and Saddam Hussein. Bush [made] a decision and should be given credit for it. The problem with the Europeans is, they are right but they are always late. And here to be late is to be wrong. To be right means to be on time. Would they have been right on Hitler, the whole [of] Europe would look different.

What about President Clinton?

Clinton was a friend. Bush's father was a friend, and President Ronald Reagan was a friend.

The title of your conference that President Bush is attending here . . . is "Facing Tomorrow." And that's really what you're about?

Yes. I think the world has changed, the Jewish world has changed, Israel has changed. I think that relations with the Jewish people shouldn't be based so much on finance but rather on intelligence and intellect, arts and spirit. . . . We want to become a contributing nation. . . . We want to be citizens of the world and not just followers of our faith.