Cheney says Iraq leaks came from Bush

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney's soon-to-be-released memoir says former President George W. Bush authorized the Iraq strategy leak.

Cheney wrote in "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," to be released Tuesday, that he was stunned to find that Bush authorized the leaks, as Cheney believed doing so could be "a real disservice" to U.S. troops, Politico reported.

In the memoir, Cheney wrote he was very concerned when he read an article by Washington Post reporter David Ignatius headlined "After the Surge: The Administration Floats Ideas for a New Approach in Iraq."

The article featured quotes from administration officials about revamping policy and gaining bipartisan support.

"I was very concerned when I read the piece, and I raised it with the president in the Oval Office. 'Whoever is leaking information like this to the press is doing a real disservice, Mr. President,' I said, 'both to you and to our forces on the ground in Baghdad.' … 'We have to correct this, particularly with our generals in the field' … .

"A short time later [national security adviser] Steve Hadley came into my office and closed the door. He told me that he was the source for Ignatius and that he'd talked to him at the instruction of the president."

Cheney wrote the book with his daughter Liz Cheney. It is published by Threshold Editions, a publisher founded by Mary Matalin, Cheney's former aide.