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George W.Bush and Vladimir PutinUnited States President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been in a war of words this week, with Bush suggesting that the Iranian nuclear program could be the lynchpin for launching  World War III.

"So I’ve told people that, if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon" and "we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. My intent is to continue to rally the world, to send a focused signal to the Iranian government that we will continue to work to isolate you in the hopes that at some point somebody else shows up and says it’s not worth the isolation," said Bush during a press conference.

The Tehran Times responded to Bush reporting that "either Bush has gone totally mad and now makes statements without consulting his advisors, or the neo-conservatives are dreaming of a new world order and no longer feel compelled to hide their goal and U.S. officials should put a muzzle on Bush to prevent him from giving people the impression that the United States is the main threat to world peace."

Putin in a telephone question and answer session advises that Russia is developing a "big, grandiose" plan to boost the country's defenses with new types of nuclear weapons to defeat the U.S. anti-missile system based in Europe.

"Our plans are not simply considerable, but huge. At the same time they are absolutely realistic. I have no doubts we will accomplish them. I can assure you that such steps are being prepared and we will take them," stated Putin.

Analysts said Mr Putin's latest remarks were designed to reassure his public that Russia still had an effective nuclear deterrent. But they were also a message to Washington: that its new and costly missile shield was effectively useless against the latest Russian technology.

Putin even suggested that the U.S. might be after Siberia’s resources and the U.S. has considered invading Russia. One thing Putin was certain of is that there are quite a few politicians in the United States who engage in what he described as "political erotica," something that "may or may not give pleasure to people, but is unlikely to generate any results," Putin added.