Bush ‘Miscalculated’ About Saddam

Former President George Bush says he underestimated Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s political staying power after the Persian Gulf War and regrets that the allies didn’t do more to undercut Saddam’s authority.

In an interview with David Frost to be aired on PBS, Bush said he still thinks Saddam will be overthrown by his own people. But Bush recalled that during the 1991 gulf war he and others felt a sound military defeat would lead to his downfall.

“I miscalculated,” Bush said. “I thought he’d be gone.”