Ex-White House spokesman blasts Bush

WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- Scott McClellan, an ex-Bush administration insider, says U.S. President George Bush engaged in what he calls "self-deception" and the war in Iraq was a mistake.

In his about-to-be-released memoir, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," the former White House press secretary said Bush "convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment," The New York Times reported Wednesday. The aim of this "self-deception," he said, was to justify his political goals.

Regarding Iraq, McClellan called the Republican president's decision to invade Iraq a "serious strategic blunder."

McClellan, 40, was part of the group of long-time advisers Bush brought with him from Texas, serving as White House press secretary from July 2003 to April 2006.

The charges leveled in the book, which is published by PublicAffairs and is to hit bookstore shelves Tuesday, were first reported by Politico.com and the Times said it also obtained an advance copy.