"Hungary
is pursuing an honest and consistent policy," said George Bush
Sr., former President of the U.S., to Ambassador András Simonyi on
Wednesday in Houston, Texas.
During
the 45-minute meeting, the former president expressed his opinion that
the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, poses a serious threat to the
Persian Gulf region, as well as to the U.S. and Europe. George Bush
Sr. visited Hungary in 1983, 1989 and 2001. He has especially fond
memories of his 1989 visit to Hungary, then in the thick of the
changes in Eastern Europe, as the forty-fourth president of
the U.S. He was greeted by a cheering, several-thousand-strong
crowd assembled in Kossuth Square, Budapest, in spite of the driving
rain. Bush tore up his speech and talked to the crowd
without the benefit of a prepared statement. During his visit, he received a piece of
barbed wire,
mounted on a brass plaque, that had once formed part of the Iron
Curtain.
George
Bush Sr. received the Ambassador in his office decorated with
mementos, pictures and photos documenting his career. After the
meeting, the former president gave an interview to Fox Television
during which he spoke approvingly of the Hungarian policy of the past
months. He said it was important that Europe and America face the
coming challenges together.
