George Michael defends political lampoon

George Michael's new video pokes fun at British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Pop singer George Michael said Wednesday that his newest song, a political satire skewering the British and U.S. leaders for their decisions regarding Iraq, was intended purely to spur public debate.

The song and video for "Shoot the Dog," released Monday, have drawn outrage from listeners in the United States who see it as an insult to President George Bush. But Michael, 39, told CNN's "TalkBack Live" he would never knowingly disrespect Americans' feelings following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"There was no plan to release [the song] in your country and I think it would have been disrespectful to make this an issue in a country which obviously has suffered much loss and very recently," Michael said. "This was absolutely an attack on [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair, principally, and the perspective which is really predominant in Europe right now that he's not questioning enough of Mr. Bush's policies."

He said the song was intended for release in Europe.

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Michael said he began writing the song last September as a way to criticize Blair for not involving the British public in decisions regarding Iraq and its president, Saddam Hussein.

More widely, he said, the song describes the dangers he saw developing between the Western world and fundamentalist factions in the Middle East. He sings, "People did you see that fire in the city/It's like we're fresh out of democratic/Gotta get yourself a little something semi-automatic."

Michael said those lines refer to al Qaeda members, who "took the law into their own hands" by carrying out the terrorist attacks last fall. "I don't think that should be misconstrued as some kind of criticism," Michael told CNN. "It's a reference to what happened, and basically saying things are going crazy."

The sometimes-graphic video is a cartoon depicting the singer at the palace with Queen Elizabeth, in Blair's bedroom with his wife, Cherie, and at the White House with Bush and Blair. He said he "wouldn't even have wanted the video shown" until it began making headlines in recent days.

"It's anti-Mr. Blair and anti-Mr. Blair's reluctance to challenge Mr. Bush. It's not anti-American in any sense," Michael told CNN.

"Satire is used for political purposes all the time, but obviously there's a time and a place," he said. "I think in the current climate, it can be very difficult to speak your mind, but sometimes, I believe, we're all in danger and I think this discussion needs to be widened."