Updated on
Summary
Former US President George W Bush says that he still has a bad feeling about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.The revelation comes in his memoir, Decision Points, to be published next week. He also reveals that he temporarily considered replacing Vice President Dick Cheney, calling him the Darth Vader of the administration. But he has no comment on his successor in the White House, Barack Obama. In the autobiography, Mr Bush defends his decision to invade Iraq, according to advanced copies of the book. He argues that both America and the Iraqis are better off without former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, whom he calls a homicidal dictator. But Mr Bush admits that he was shocked when no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. The former president also describes how he considered an offer by Vice President Dick Cheney to step down in 2003 so that Mr Bush could pick a different running mate for the 2004 election campaign. But Mr Bush writes that he decided to stick with Mr Cheney because he had chosen him to do the job and that was exactly what he had done. According to media who obtained the autobiography, Mr Bush focuses on anecdotes and details of 14 major events of his life and presidency, including the decision to stop drinking and his decisions following the attacks of 11 September 2001. He admits he made mistakes when responding to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and describes how he felt like the captain of a sinking ship when the economic crisis escalated towards the end of his presidency in 2008. This book will be published by Crown next week.
