Bush: No sense of jubilation about bin Laden's death

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Former President George W. Bush says he experienced no pleasure when he heard about the death of Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader responsible for orchestrating the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"He was sitting in a restaurant in Dallas when the Secret Service told him that President (Barack) Obama wanted to speak to him. He then learned about the assassination," documentarian Peter Schnall told CNN in an interview set to air Monday.

Bush "said to us certainly there was no sense of jubilation (and) certainly no sense of happiness," Schnall stressed. "If anything, he felt that finally there was a sense of closure."

Schnall interviewed the former president as part of a documentary airing on National Geographic on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The interview covers a broad range of topics tied to Bush's response to the attacks -- a response that remains a source of deep political division both within the United States and overseas.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/09/05/bush.documentary.interview/index.html

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March 13, 2002 press conference:

Q: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.

This remark became a debate issue in 2004. The Clinton administration authorized military force to get bin Laden following the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, but once the Afghanistan war started, Bush declined an offer by the Taliban to turn over bin Laden if the US ended combat in the country.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. He's just pouting because *he* never was able to bag OBL.

He'd have been jubilating all over himself if he had.

[bemildred]

8. +1.

Same old Shrub like he always was.

[lsewpershad]

17. Proves he's an

Idiot

[pasto76]

15. word. he also believe/was told that if "he" couldnt get him, nobody could

...unless the next CIC orders the CIA director to make his killing or capture their #1 priority!

[KurtNYC]

28. I think his reaction shows government, war and showbiz are one in the same

Bush was not actively President during his terms; Cheney was. Bush wasn't allowed to kill OBL.

The US had OBL at Tora Bora in April of 2002 but we had a couple of wars to sell and we needed a boogey man.

[tularetom]

2. "Closure" is the biggest bullshit word in the English language

Bush doesn't feel any sense of "closure". He's eating his guts out over the black guy killing the terrorist he basically gave up on.

[dennis4868]

3. I thought he said....

that he doesn't think about OBL anymore?

[mainstreetonce]

4. I hope

He spends the 9/11 anniversary wallowing in his own hell.

[No Elephants]

25. He'll spend it being honored.

[Turbineguy]

5. I can imagine.

Bin Laden was a big help to Bush.

[izquierdista]

6. Being that close to the family

I'll bet he sent a sympathy card.

[wisteria]

9. +1 n/t

[underpants]

7. Wwo Jack Daniels made a horrible decision and then has no feelings about it

:beer:

Great link on the handing OBL over - that has been wiped from the public mind.

[Wolf Frankula]

10. Bin Ladin was friend of the Bush Family

And a very, useful boogeyman for the Chimperor.

Wolf Frankula

[Lasher]

11. He felt like the other team made a touchdown when Obama got bin Laden.

That's the way he thinks and he's not alone.

[Red Mountain]

12. I can believe he didn't....but not his motivation

He'd have mocked Osama like Carla Faye Tucker if he wasn't afraid of making himself a target.

Bush has always and will always be a scared little man.

[EvilMonsanto]

13. He's angry he didn't catch him

But this president has

however Obama catching Osama is not nearly as huge as if Obama ended the wars because of killing him.

why are we still in Iraq??????????????????

[KeepItReal]

21. He didn't give two flips about catching OBL.

The sooner Bin Laden was killed or captured, the less viable the invasion of Iraq would have been.

[Politicalboi]

14. I wonder if Bush told them

About the night of 9/11 when he and Laura were awakened and had to run down the stairs in their jammies for a false alarm. They ended up laughing about the event. Yes laughter was his last response to a day of destruction.

[alp227]

16. source

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20060601_bush_sept_11_relatively_humorous/

[drokhole]

18. Ah, yes...the "eating soufflé" moment. I felt compelled to add that to Urban Dictionary's lexicon...

Eating Soufflé

The ultimate expression of ineptitude, supplanting "out to lunch." Derived from the king of all dipshits, George W. Bush - when asked what he was doing when he learned that President Obama finally cleaned up his mess and took out Bin Laden, he responded "eating soufflé."

Further, not in touch with the real world, crazy; also, inattentive. This expression transfers a temporary physical absence for the purpose of eating soufflé to a temporary or permanent mental absence. In George W. Bush's case, it's the permanent kind.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Eating%20Souffl%C3%A9

[kestrel91316]

19. BS. He probably went on a week-long bender over it.

[Moonwalk]

20. What? No "Mission Accomplished" Party?

:eyes: and here I was expecting to hear he'd put on the flight suit, boarded a boat and waved a flag on his signature banner of celebration and success. Color me shocked by his lack of enthusiasm. :sarcasm: He certainly showed plenty of jubilation when he got a chance to bomb a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 to little bits.

[Tim4319]

22. He stopped thinking about OBL 6 months after 911!

So, how can he have any emotion?

[krabigirl]

23. of course not. he never cared, he just wanted to finish his daddy's war in iraq.

[Dawson Leery]

24. Contrary to what every right wing "law and order" teaklans"man",

chickenhawk, and good ole boy (as well as exburb soccer mom's) believe, Bush did not give a damn about catching OBL nor did Bush Jr. give a damn about the warnings he was given during the summer of 2001 that something bad was going to happen.

[No Elephants]

26. All souffle, no cattle.

[yellowcanine]

27. Of course had it happened on his watch he would have strapped on the codpiece and landed a jet.