Mideast crisis drives Bush to colorful language
Mon Jul 17, 2006 6:33am ET171
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A microphone picked up an unaware President Bush saying on Monday Syria should press Hezbollah to "stop doing this sh*t" and that his secretary of state may go to the Middle East soon.
Bush was talking privately to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a lunch at the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg about an upsurge of violence in the Middle East, not realizing a microphone was recording what he said.
"I think Condi (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) is going to go pretty soon," Bush said.
Blair replied: "Right, that's all that matters, it will take some time to get that together."
The two leaders also referred to an offer by Blair to help. Blair said Rice has "got to succeed" if she goes out to the region.
Bush replied: "What they need to do it to get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this sh*t." Shortly afterwards Blair noticed the microphone and hastily switched it off, but not before the recording had reached news media.
Much of the G8 summit has been devoted to discussing the Middle East crisis centering on Lebanese Hezbollah militant attacks on Israel and Israeli bombing of Lebanon. Washington and its allies say Hezbollah is backed by Syria.
