by Mark Silva
Former President George W. Bush, stepping cautiously onto the public stage a few months into retirement, maintains that lives were saved with the interrogations of suspected terrorists carried out by his administration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Yet, unlike former Vice President Dick Cheney, who also argues that President Barack Obama's refusal to embrace anti-terrorism tactics which the former administration called "enhanced interrogation'' and which the current administration considers "torture,'' Bush stopped short of suggesting that his successor has left Americans more vulnerable to new danger.
"I made a decision within the law to get information so I can say, I've done what it takes to do my duty to protect the American people," the former president said of the interrogations which his Justice Department authorized and which the CIA conducted. "I can tell you,'' Bush said, "the information gained saved lives."
In a 75-minute address to the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan, the former president spoke of his presidency and his personal life - but he withheld any criticism for the man who has succeeded him.
"Nothing I'm saying tonight is meant to criticize my successor," Bush told his audience. "There are plenty of people who are weighing in on that, but I didn't like when former presidents criticized me, and I'm not going to do it to him... "I wish him all the best."
(Photo of former President Bush by Jonathon Gruenke / Kalamazoo Gazette
Sometimes joking about life in retirement, Bush, 62, also reminisced about the presidency, the fog of war following the 9/11 attacks and his belief in free trade.
"We should care about poverty overseas, for our own self-interest," the former president said. ""Ideologues can only recruit when they find hopeless people."
The president told an audience of about 2,000 in Benton Harbor of a White House meeting in September in which his economic advisers told him: "'You could be the president presiding over a depression even worse than the Great Depression'... That was a a sobering moment," Bush said. "And so I abandoned my principles. I'm a free-market person. I believe the market should sort things out."
That's when Bush acquiesced to a multibillion-dollar federal bailout of the nation's financial markets.
"A major culprit was lack of responsible regulation," he conceded of an era in which his own administration had provided that regulation for eight years. "I worry a lot about overregulation. ... But sometimes markets need restraint."
He called the invasion of Iraq one of his toughest decisions: "The intelligence was a disappointment, but it wasn't the only rationale I gave," he said. "Saddam was a dangerous man. I truly believe the world is better off without him. ... The (invasion) was truly worth it, I believe."
He spoke, as he has in other venues, of walking his dog, Barney, around his new Dallas neighborhood.
"What was even weirder is that I realized Barney had never walked in a neighborhood," Bush said. "Then Barney spots a neighbor's lawn, and you've got a former president of the United States with a plastic bag, picking up what I had been dodging for eight years."
He spoke of the former first lady, Laura Bush, and the impact that his wife had on his own life.
"Believe me, her life's dream was not to be first lady," he said. "Frankly, if we weren't married, I'm not so sure she would have voted for me. Although if it hadn't been for her, I probably wouldn't have run for office."
Now, Bush is working on his autobiography, which will focus on the dozen toughest decisions he made as president. And Bush, who has made few addresses since leaving office, will appear at another event with former President Bill Clinton, today in Canada. He suggested that Thursday night's speech was "a chance to get out of the house."
Comments
If he hadn't started a fake war no lives would have been in danger.
Posted by: PAX | May 29, 2009 10:32 AM
He just can't help himself. Lying just comes naturally to this guy. Let's not forget all of the lives lost because of his incompetence.
Posted by: KenDen | May 29, 2009 10:33 AM
"Ideologues can only recruit when they find hopeless people."
Hmmm, sounds a lot like Dumbya's military...
Posted by: Jim Duncan | May 29, 2009 10:44 AM
George Bush is a WAR CRIMINAL and a LIAR. He should be treated as such.
Posted by: Winski | May 29, 2009 11:24 AM
The Obamabots will never give Bush any credit for anything.
Blinded by hate and fueled by the Liberal Media twisting facts.
The brainwashing continues.
Repeat after me..
Obama=yeah!
Bush=boo!
Posted by: TA | May 29, 2009 11:24 AM
They all need to say this don't they now that the LEGAL rationale is falling apart.
I thought broken records went away with the advent of the CD/digital files? . . .
Posted by: Phil | May 29, 2009 11:37 AM
"information gained saved lives".....BS! Nearly 5,000 American Soldiers are dead because of your lies.
Posted by: Tim | May 29, 2009 11:42 AM
On the one day it truely mattered, Bush was unable to save American lives. That day, he was in a classroom in Florida
Posted by: Joe | May 29, 2009 12:07 PM
Why is Bush trying, like Cheney to justify their treasonous actions? They, along with Rice, Rove, and Rumsfeld should all be in prison.
Posted by: bronellione | May 29, 2009 12:11 PM
This has already been proved, the media is just unwilling to accept this or print it because they are on the anti-enhanced interrogation bandwagon.
No doubt more of this will come out in large scale in the future when some of these alleged terrorists are tried or deported and the case information will be declassified and made available to the public.
Maybe thats why the left is blocking efforts to close Getmo? When the truth is known they will all look like a bunch of Pelosi's
Posted by: Nick | May 29, 2009 12:13 PM
I'm sure there will be a lot of people spewing venom over this article. I for one think Bush did what he thought was right. And he did it with no regard for what others thought. I admire that quality.
Posted by: crobb | May 29, 2009 12:13 PM
And he did it with no regard for what others thought. I admire that quality.
Posted by: crobb | May 29, 2009 12:13 PM
Just as you admire Obama right?
Posted by: bill r. | May 29, 2009 12:43 PM
TORTURE IS A WAR CRIME!....period, end of story.
Posted by: Don't listen to Faux News and Rush | May 29, 2009 12:48 PM
Nice to see that he won't stoop to the level of all the liberals and rip the current administration. There is the difference between the two camps. Conservatives will do what they feel is necessary to maintain and defend the honor of our country, while the liberals will go out of their way to rip someone in a partisan argument even if it makes the country look bad or endangers national security or our troops. They continue to do so now, even when they have complete control over everything (God help us).
Posted by: BigDoggie | May 29, 2009 12:59 PM
Torture is an international war crime. Anyone authorizing it, doing it or refusing to prosecute it is a war criminal.
Posted by: Kingfish | May 29, 2009 1:18 PM
Bush's speech was an unveiled rebuke of Cheney's public sniping at Obama and the new administration. Of course Bush would stand up for his own torture policies, but he managed to make it clear that he won't tolerate sideline attacks of Obama. Will Cheney listen? I'm guessing no...
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | May 29, 2009 1:26 PM
Nice to see that he won't stoop to the level of all the liberals and rip the current administration. There is the difference between the two camps. Conservatives will do what they feel is necessary to maintain and defend the honor of our country, while the liberals will go out of their way to rip someone in a partisan argument even if it makes the country look bad or endangers national security or our troops
Posted by: BigDoggie | May 29, 2009 12:59 PM
****************
Really? Is that what Cheney has been doing the last two months?
Shrub Jr. and Cheney's only claim to competency is that after they allowed 9-11 to happen, we didn't have another attack on our soil.
That's sort of like Sauron saying that he didn't make any major mistakes after the Ring went into the fire....
Stuff happens?!?! And the Corporate media eats it up. The Dick Cheney is doing a great job on his "Let's Insult the Intelligence of Americans Tour".
The warmongering Bush Crime Family is scared to death and they should be.
It might not be a bad idea for these war criminals to avoid doing any sort of international travel, ever.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq3a6NQZyJM
Posted by: Hulk SMASH! | May 29, 2009 1:46 PM
BigDoggie, Bush dishonored our country through his actions. The use of torture, and an unneccessary war based on lies did not maintain our honor in any way. His actions made America look bad, not the legitimate criticism aimed at those actions.
Posted by: Nel | May 29, 2009 1:53 PM
My heart goes out to the terminally stupid Repuglicans on here who are still defending the Worst President Ever and his boss, the Dick Cheney.
When W. and Darth start talking like Jack Bauer it makes all the little Wingnuts feel all warm and protected. They will cheer together when the Iraqi Civilization is looted, and they will cry together when Dick Cheney is lead away in handcuffs. They're GOPer through and through. No need to spoil anything with using their brains. All they need, in their genocidal little tax-cuts for the rich hearts, is to do what they think is right. Who cares about national and international law! That stuff is for sissies!
Posted by: DrainYou | May 29, 2009 1:57 PM
Hey Bush!. . what about the torture that was inflicted BEFORE you had your hack fascist lawyers Yoo and Bybee cobble together the CYA legal memo???
And the . .. uh . . . 30-40 homicides the medical examiners found among detainees who died in detention. Did you find some lawyer to write a memo saying beating people to death is not homicide too?
If your war crimes "worked" and managed to 'keep America safe", why destroy the 92 video tapes of the sessions of torture which would show this?
Posted by: Mick Hendrix | May 29, 2009 2:09 PM
Really disappointing that the Economic Club of Southwestern MI paid Chimpy for the Cheney/Bush propaganda. While there, did Chimpy answer any questions about trade agreements and globalization taking manufacturing jobs out of MI?
Posted by: Vivian | May 29, 2009 2:51 PM
Oh what a "pleasure" it is to read all the nonsensical, full-of-hate, the peak of stupidity and ignorance comments that come from truly the worst mankind has to offer ever, the loons from the left. There is not nor has there ever been a more worthless being on this planet than the loons from the left. Dead grass, roadkill, rotting garbage and disease all have a greater and better purpose than the loons from the left. Sorry, just being honest and truthful, loons.
Posted by: John D | May 29, 2009 4:24 PM
Oh what a "pleasure" it is to read all the nonsensical, full-of-hate, the peak of stupidity and ignorance comments that come from truly the worst mankind has to offer ever,
Posted by: John D | May 29, 2009 4:24 PM
**************
So why don't you stop posting it on here, Diaper Boy?
Posted by: janet | May 29, 2009 5:18 PM
all you haters of Bush need to remember. If Clinton took care of business in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation. no other President had more difficult situations come up than Bush and he did everything he could to protect us. I do feel for the military families of the men and women who have died, but they died defending what they believe and their country. I truely believe when you supporters of Obama come to see his true colors, you will be embarassed that you voted a man with on experience other than writing books and becoming a celebrity. and obama didn't come from poverty, he grew up in paradise and attended a top rated school (Punahou) and having a doctor as a mother and a grandmother as a VP of the largest bank in hawaii is hardly poverty. this shows how SAD american's depend on the media to feed them CRAP.
Posted by: Bethk | May 29, 2009 7:16 PM
Pax,
Would that fake war have been started by the fake WMDs that these people said existed?
http://www.davidstuff.com/political/wmdquotes.htm
Joe - please explain what President Bush was supposed to do on 9-11-01?
With all the flatliners in here, I'm glad I bought stock in Kool-Aid.
Posted by: Terry | May 29, 2009 7:44 PM
"info gained saved lives..."
but does that make torture OK?
The KGB, NVA, Third Reich, Imperial Japan, could all make that claim.
Off subject:
BTW, here is some exclusive video of John D on his last camping trip to a National Park.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD5zjUbWpXY
Posted by: C.Morris | May 30, 2009 7:30 PM