On how New York has changed:
My office looks down on Times Square. It looks like the Times Square of last year, except a little more crowded. You can see the changes if you look below the surface: the city has become stronger. Most of us feel as if we’ve withstood an unimaginable attack, and probably if we had imagined it, we would have wondered, can we get through it? And now it’s happened, and we have gotten through it. So we’re more realistic.
On how America has changed:
There’s no question that we as a country are much more united, much more willing to express our patriotism and not feel self-conscious about it. There were people who were afraid that the country would forget and become complacent, but I go all around the country… and people remember. There’s also a recognition of the vulnerability that was always there but maybe we didn’t always realize. We’re confronting the reality of the world we live in.
On what to do with the World Trade Center site:
It is a huge mistake to think of it beginning with the idea of economic development. The first thought should be how to create the most beautiful memorial we are capable of making. The attack of September 11 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania will be one of the significant moments in the history of this country. People are going to want to see it in the way they wanted to see Normandy and Gettysburg.
The office space can be constructed a lot of other places. If somebody would ask me, I’d go and find the office space for them.
On the war on terror:
I think the war in Afghanistan has gone better, faster and possibly more effectively than we ever could have expected. Al Qaeda was not a well-known organization to the general public on September 11. That whole effort was mounted very, very quickly. I think it’s remarkable how much they’ve achieved in this period of time. But we’re now moving on to the next phase. And I have to remind people the president made clear in his first speech after the attacks that this would be a long-term war.
On invading Iraq:
I think there’s no question that in the right way and in the right time our goal has to be eliminating Saddam Hussein’s regime. I think the only way it can be done is militarily. I think the current debate may be a function of the fact that we’re further away from September 11. It’s almost like a throwback to where we were pre-September 11–let’s pretend we live in a world different from the one in which we live. I don’t think we need any more proof that he is a clear and present danger to us.
On the Justice Department:
They should be arguing in court that this is an emergency we’re dealing with, and it really is required during this emergency to treat people as war criminals, or maybe we need another category–people aiding and abetting terrorists. As long as there’s a recognition that at some point there’s got to be a return to regular procedures.
On his political future:
I divide my time between my private business, finishing my book and giving speeches. And I’ve been campaigning for people, for Elizabeth Dole and Jeb Bush and Senator [Mitch] McConnell, Bill Simon, George Pataki here in New York. If I had to predict, I’d say yes, I’ll be back in politics in a direct way in the future. But right now one of the things I’m focused on is re-electing this president. The commitment I feel to him is so deep it’s very hard to even describe.
