On Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 1:11 PM National Security Archive <[email protected]> wrote:
> Putin First Foreign Leader to Call on 9/11, “Invaluable” to U.S. > on Afghanistan. Putin: “We need to destroy them like rats, or buy them > off.” Bush: “We'll get ‘em. ‘Dead or alive.’ (And I have a preference.)” > Putin Opposed U.S. Invasion of Iraq: “The most important thing...is that we > should not substitute the law of force for international > law” > > > > > > > The Bush-Putin Transcripts: > How Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush Bonded Over Terrorism > > <https://default.salsalabs.org/T6f44f7a5-e67b-4e97-b2e7-c4180cfe4fe6/12238b38-d371-4bc9-b2b2-ab5a3bdb144f> > Putin First Foreign Leader to Call on 9/11, “Invaluable” to U.S. on > Afghanistan Putin: “We need to destroy them like rats, or buy them off.” Bush: > “We'll get ‘em. ‘Dead or alive.’ (And I have a preference.)” Putin > Opposed U.S. Invasion of Iraq: “The most important thing...is that we > should not substitute the law of force for international law” > > *Washington, D.C., January 7, 2026* - Russian president Vladimir Putin > was the first foreign leader to call George W. Bush on his birthday in July > 2001 and on the day of the 9/11 attacks, and the two presidents bonded over > a shared toughness against terrorists, according to newly declassified > transcripts of Putin-Bush conversations obtained through the Freedom of > Information Act (FOIA) and published today by the National Security Archive > at George Washington University. > > The new transcripts include the text of a phone call on September 12, > 2001, in which Bush thanks Putin for being the first foreign leader to call > with support the previous day and says he is eager “to show the world that > freedom-loving people like you and me can unite against these cowards.” > Putin responds, “I'm fully with you.” > > Subsequently, in face-to-face meetings in Shanghai in October 2001 and at > the White House in November 2001, Putin equates the Chechens he is fighting > in Russia with the Arab terrorists of Bin Laden, and the two presidents > share increasingly tough rhetoric. Bush says the Taliban are “fleeing like > rabbits,” while Putin remarks that, “We need to destroy them like rats, or > buy them off.” Bush assures Putin, “North, south, east, or west, we'll get > ‘em. ‘Dead or alive.’ (And I have a preference.)” > > The transcripts also cover increasingly difficult conversations leading up > to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, with Putin opposed but > carefully navigating his talks with Bush to keep their relationship > positive and maintain their cooperation against terrorism. Remarkably, > Putin lectures Bush about the legality of the operation in their phone call > on March 18, 2003: “You said that the goal is a regime change; however, > this is not something provided for in the U.N. charter or in international > law... The most important thing, and I have already mentioned this, is that > we should not substitute the law of force for international law.” > > The Putin-Bush transcripts only became public as the result of a FOIA > lawsuit brought by the National Security Archive against the National > Archives and Records Administration, with exemplary pro bono legal > representation by the Goodwin Procter law firm and lead attorneys Jaime > Santos and Andrew Kim. > > This is the second in a series of Electronic Briefing Books focused on the > Putin Transcripts. The initial package includes the memcons of the first > and last personal meetings between Putin and Bush: the first in Slovenia in > the summer of 2001 and the last at Putin’s dacha in Sochi in April 2008. > Those transcripts illustrate the trajectory of the relationship, from > effusive partnership to polite disagreement. Today’s Briefing Book focuses > on the early years of the Putin-Bush partnership. > https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2026-01-07/bush-putin-transcripts-how-vladimir-putin-and-george-w -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#40082): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/40082 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/117148764/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
