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Bush, G-8 summit shadowed by terrorism in London

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – For President Bush, the easy calm of a morning in the Scottish highlands was shattered by reports that echoed, all too horribly, news he had received at home 3 and a half years ago: Coordinated attacks had been launched in London on citizens simply going about their daily business.

The schedule called for Bush and other world leaders meeting at a summit here to begin discussing the pressing problems of African poverty and global warming. After a morning suspension, the meetings went forward by leaders intent on showing the world that terrorism would not thwart their business.

CHARLES DHARAPAK/AP Photo (enlarge photo) President Bush, right, walks away from National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley before making a statement at the Gleneagles Hotel near Auchterarder, Scotland, Thursday.

But the carefully crafted themes of this Group of Eight summit were eclipsed by television scenes of the carnage in London and grave faces of Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leaders vowing to battle and defeat the terrorists.

About 20 minutes after news of a rush-hour explosion was first reported, Bush was briefed on it and the successive bombings by his chief of staff, Andrew Card, and his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, who have accompanied him on the trip to Scotland.

As the morning wore on and it became clear the explosions were the work of terrorists, Bush's thoughts turned to the security of the United States. Card called Vice President Dick Cheney, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte and officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

Before noon, according to White House spokesman Scott McClellan, Bush convened a secure video conference with some of his homeland security and national security advisers. The conference lasted about 10 minutes.

"The president wanted to make sure that all appropriate agencies were responding," McClellan said. "He wanted to make sure that appropriate agencies were acting and taking any necessary precautions."

Bush told reporters later that he had instructed authorities in the United States to be "extra vigilant" as people in the United States began going to work.

The day had started so well, with Bush having coffee with Blair on a sunlit terrace outside the Gleneagles Hotel.

At 8:40 a.m., the two leaders met with the press, acknowledging the previous day's failure to reach agreement on efforts to combat global warming and noting that a new agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be at least seven years away.

It was a lighthearted moment. Bush apologized to a female reporter whom he had accidentally referred to a day earlier as "Reuters man," and joked about his bicycle accident on Wednesday.

"It's a beautiful day for a bike ride," Bush said to laughter. "So was yesterday, I thought."

Unknown to Bush and Blair, as they bantered with reporters, the first of the London bombs was detonated.

The time for laughter soon came to an abrupt end. Card and Hadley continued to brief the president throughout the morning as details on the scope of the attacks emerged. The G-8 meetings were suspended.

Around 11:00 a.m., all the leaders met with Blair. After that meeting, Bush returned to his hotel suite, and it was then that he called his first of a series of videoconferences with officials in Washington. The administration raised the nation's terror alert to orange, or high, for mass transit systems.

Shortly after noon, Bush stood grim-faced amid a phalanx of national leaders who silently expressed solidarity with Britain as Blair read a joint statement on behalf of them all, vowing that the terrorists would never win.

Afterward, Bush spoke to reporters again – this time in a much more somber vein.

"The contrast between what we've seen on the TV screens here, what's taken place in London and what's taking place here, is incredibly vivid to me," he said. "On the one hand, we have people here who are working to alleviate poverty, to help rid the world of the pandemic of AIDS, working on ways to have a clean environment. And on the other hand, you've got people killing innocent people. And the contrast couldn't be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill — those who have got such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks."

As he spoke, a helicopter carrying Blair back to London took off in the background.

"The war on terror goes on," Bush said. "I was most impressed by the resolve of all the leaders in the room. Their resolve is as strong as my resolve. And that is we will not yield to these people, will not yield to the terrorists. We will find them, we will bring them to justice, and at the same time we will spread an ideology of hope and compassion that will overwhelm their ideology of hate."

When he finished his statement, the president ignored a shouted question, turned on his heel and walked away.

McClellan said the president has no plans to return to the United States ahead of schedule.

Leaders attending the summit postponed until Friday planned declarations on climate change and the global economy. But terrorism remains the main topic of conversation here, inside and outside the meeting hall.

Don Melvin's e-mail address is dmelvin(at)coxnews.com

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