Apparently Bush has not read this letter.
He was the most powerful man on the planet for eight years. Now former US president George W Bush has spoken frankly about the perils of leadership, saying holding on to power for too long can be ‘corrosive’.
Mr Bush, who served two terms in the White House, said he thought being in charge could ‘dim your vision’ because you get carried away with fame.
He admitted that while he was president he came to understand how ‘fame can become very addictive’.
Mr Bush said: ‘I’ve had all the fame a man could want… I don’t long for [fame]. Nor do I long for power. I’ve come to realise that power can be corrosive if you’ve had it for too long.
‘It can dim your vision. And so I came to the conclusion that, you know, I don’t long for fame.’
He also confessed he has deliberately avoided the limelight since leaving office
It is unclear whether the comments will help to rehabilitate his image. A poll last year found he is the most unpopular living president, with 54 per cent saying they had an unfavourable view of him.
While 43 per cent said they did like him, this was low compared to the two-thirds who said they still liked former President Bill Clinton.
After he came into office in 2001, Mr Bush embarked on two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have resulted in the deaths of 6,471 American troops. Some 32,000 US soldiers were injured in Iraq and 18,000 in Afghanistan.
At least 132,000 civilians have died in both conflicts.
‘Bad consequences’: Bush, riding with a veteran above, said he knew the injuries many veterans suffer from were part of the ‘bad consequences to war’
Mr Bush was speaking to The Huffington Post during the third annual Warrior 100K challenge, a three-day mountain bike ride hosted at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
The 75 riders who took part included 13 veterans who have been physically or psychologically wounded during their service in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Asked if he felt responsible for their injuries, Mr Bush said: ‘Well, to a certain extent you can’t help it, because had I not made decisions I made, they wouldn’t have been in combat.
‘On the other hand, every one of these men were volunteers. None of them are angry. They don’t blame anybody. And so I believe strongly that the decisions I made were the right decisions.’
He added: ‘I don’t feel sorry for them, because they don’t feel sorry for themselves.’
His comments risk angering veterans’ groups who have long backed him as a former Commander in Chief.
Mr Bush is unapologetic about his war record and in his 2009 memoir said that it was ‘damn right’ to waterboard terror suspects in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
He was also dismissive of those who opposed his decision to open the Guantanamo Bay detention center and claimed that he was ‘blindsided’ about the abuses of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Bush’s war dead and wounded
- According to the Pentagon 4,409 American soldiers died in the war in Iraq
- A further 31,927 soldiers returned home injured under Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Since the mission became Operation New Dawn – the transfer of power to local authorities – a further 66 members of the American military have been killed while 295 have been wounded
- Under Operation Enduring Freedom – the war in Afghanistan – 2,094 soldiers have died with three additional fatalities pending official military identification
- A further 124 have died supporting the mission outside the country
- 18,610 servicemen and women have returned home wounded
- The figures are up to date as of May 31
- Many have criticized the way wounded figures are collected as they don’t consider those suffering from mental health issues like PTSD
‘Volunteers’: Bush, right, said veterans, like those he is riding with above, were volunteers and don’t blame anyone for their injuries
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2333977/George-W-Bush-Ive-come-realise-power-corrosive-Former-president-admits-carried-away-fame.html#ixzz2UxfhOXdB
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keep it up georgie, It’s not a lie… if you believe it
I would only point out that the US had eight years of a Cheney presidency – GWB was just a puppet for El Dicko & his cronies…
On whose measure was he the most powerful man on the planet?
That phrase gets right up my nose because it is not true, China can call up a military force larger than the population of the whole US, Russia has a comparable nuclear arsenal and population and is leading America in many areas of technology militarywise that the self claimed perception of power is incorrect.
If you consider that Russia is fairly flush economically and China all but owns the US debt and is buying its way round the planet then economically the power still rests in Asia.
And power projection itself is not the same, the US at its peak has only ever projected a fraction of the enormous power the European empires wielded and that at its height it relied on the conglomerate of allies to project that power rather than having it outright as say the British empire did and if success is a measure of power then the recent failures of America’s micromilitarism are consistent with recorded study of imperial cycles showing the US as a failing empire, I suspect that Syria was America’s defining Suez moment where the government in a rare fit of reality realised it was unable to open up a new theatre of conflict whilst maintaining the vastly costly and resource draining “bases” across the globe which the US seriously does not need.
Now that they needs to be careful where they travel lest they’re arrested for war crimes…maybe Sock Puppet George and Dickie “Buckshot” Cheney are starting to prepare their defense. It’s the old “I didn’t know then, but I know now…and gosh I’m sorry…really I am” defense. Hopefully someday soon we’ll see if the ICC buys it. I can’t think of two more deserving recipients of justice. I ain’t holding my breath…just hoping.
Wondering if Jeff Gannon moved in with the Bushes after GW left office?
http://www.examiner.com/article/pedophilia-and-male-prostitutes-the-white-house-the-franklin-affair-and-bush-s-jeff-gannon
just more propaganda to keep the sheople sheople like…creating the illusion he actually made a decisions on his own.
I know, George. We couldn’t believe it either. They said they could crown you. They said they could make you a popular wartime president. They did. It’s still not too late for you to make amends, though. I’m sure you could tell us a thing or two about the corrosion. Maybe you could help end the corrupt power.
Over 1,000,000 civilians in Iraq died because of the Bush lies of Sept 11, 2001. Bush and his entire administration should be shot for their war crimes.
Bush can talk and say all he wants, he is still a cheap low life war criminal that should be doing life in prison if not swining from the rope.
With wind chimes installed!