President Bush on Energy Security and National Security

President Bush keeps reaffirming his commitment to nuclear energy in public. The following is from a transcript of a roundtable discussion the President conducted with young professionals in Mainz, Germany yesterday:

And let me say something about September the 11th. I think this will help frame the conversation as we go forward. For some, September the 11th was a passing moment in history. In other words, it was a terrible moment, but it passes. For me, and my government, and many in the United States, it permanently changed our outlook on the world. Those two attitudes caused us, sometimes, to talk past each other, and I plead guilty at times. But as this conversation goes on, I want you to remember that point of view.

As a result of feeling like -- that my main obligation is now to protect the American people, and to confront an ideology of hate. We are no longer -- our primary objective is the spread of freedom. The best way to diversify, at least for my country -- and I don't want to raise a sore subject here -- but diversify away from dependence on foreign sources of energy, is for us to take advantage of new technologies and expand safe nuclear power in the United States of America.

To me, that would achieve several objectives. One, it's a renewable source of energy; two, it's a domestic source of energy; and three, it would help us meet our obligations to clean air requirements.

Unfortunately, it's an issue that's hard to get through our Congress. I mean, there's a lot of people still fearful of nuclear power, and it's a debate I've engaged in. It's a subject I brought up in my State of the Union address, and it's a subject I'll continue to talk about, because I think it is a way for the United States to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy, which is good for our economy, and, frankly, helps us with foreign policy.