Bush says U.S. moral authority remains strong

Eight days before he was to hand power to President-elect Barack Obama, Bush defended his decisions on the Iraq war, the issue that will define his presidency like no other. There have been more than 4,000 U.S. deaths and thousands of Iraqis killed since the invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The 43rd president said "not finding weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment." The accusation that Saddam had and was pursuing such devastating weaponry was Bush's main initial justification for going to war.

And, Bush said, he had miscalculated when -- eager to report quick progress after U.S. troops ousted Saddam Hussein -- he made a victory speech in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner draped across an aircraft carrier five years ago.

"In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed," he declared triumphantly May 1, 2003, from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of San Diego.

"Clearly putting `Mission Accomplished' on an aircraft carrier was a mistake," he said in Monday's news conference.

He also defended his decision in 2007 to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Iraq to knock down violence levels and stabilize life in the country.

"The question is, in the long run, will this democracy survive, and that's going to be a question for future presidents," he said.

Bush listed the handling of prisoners in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison among the failures of his second term. Pictures emerged and were widely distributed showing U.S. soldiers abusing detainees in prison, an event that served to deepen Muslim animosity over the American invasion of Iraq.

Bush referred to the enormous weight Obama is about to experience, describing what it might feel like on Jan. 20 when, after taking the oath of office, he enters the Oval Office for the first time as president. "There'll be a moment when the responsibility of the president lands squarely on his shoulders," Bush said.

He also said he hoped the tone in Washington improves during the Obama administration, declaring "the rhetoric got out of control" during his presidency.

"I hope that if people disagree President Obama, they treat him with respect," Bush said.

He also defended the federal government's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina after it flattened a broad swath of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast.

"Don't tell me the federal response was slow when there were 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed," Bush said in an animated accounting of his presidency.

He declared himself disappointed that Congress failed to move on foreign trade bills and warned against the United States turning inward during it's current economic slump.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email