In memoir, Bush defends waterboarding

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President George W. Bush was back in the spotlight, stirring up interest his memoir, "Decision Points," released Tuesday.

In the book, which he began writing in 2008 soon after leaving office, Bush shares his thoughts on the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Hurricane Katrina, waterboarding terror suspects and what he called the "worst moments" of his presidency, CNN reported.

In the book, Bush says the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks gave his administration a clear mission and pumped him with the resolve to find out who was responsible and "kick their ass."

Concerning the use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning, as an interrogation technique, Bush wrote, "CIA experts drew up a list of interrogation techniques. ... At my direction, Department of Justice and CIA lawyers conducted a careful legal review. The enhanced interrogation program complied with the Constitution and all applicable laws, including those that ban torture."

In the book, Bush reviewed the government response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, saying it was "not only flawed" but "unacceptable."

"As the leader of the federal government, I should have recognized the deficiencies sooner and intervened faster," Bush wrote. "Yet in the days after Katrina, that didn't happen. The problem was not that I made the wrong decisions. It was that I took too long to decide."

He also got personal in his memoir, discussing his past problems with alcohol abuse and his 1986 decision to give up drinking completely. Just days before the 2000 presidential election, news broke that Bush had been arrested for driving under the influence in Maine in 1976.

"Not disclosing the DUI on my terms may have been the single costliest political mistake I ever made," Bush wrote, explaining he decided against revealing the matter because he didn't want to undermine his anti-drinking-and-driving message to his daughters.

During an interview on NBC as part of the media blitz, Bush said his worst moment in the Oval Office came when the rap star Kanye West said the president didn't care about black people, The New York Times reported.

"The suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low," Bush said. "I didn't appreciate it then; I don't appreciate it now. I resent it, it's not true, and it was one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency."