WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush told ABC’s “World News” the biggest regret of his presidency was the “intelligence failure” regarding the extent of then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s threat to the United States.
With the support of Congress, Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, a decision largely justified on grounds — later proved false — that Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction.
Asked if he would have ordered the U.S.-led invasion if intelligence reports had accurately indicated that Hussein did not have the weapons, Bush replied: “You know, that’s an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can’t do. It’s hard for me to speculate.”
The interview with ABC aired Monday.
Bush expressed remorse that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts and said he’ll back more government intervention if needed to ease the recession.
“I’m sorry it’s happening, of course,” Bush said. “Obviously I don’t like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we’re in. And if we need to be in more, we will.”
As he prepares to leave office, Bush said he felt responsible for the economic downturn because it’s occurring on his watch, but he added: “I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so” before he became president.
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