July 27, 2011 3:42 PM

Bush opens up on bin Laden: No "jubilation" at his death

By
Gabrielle Pedriani
Topics
Osama bin Laden

George W. Bush

Former President George W. Bush, who has mostly avoided the spotlight since leaving office, signs copies of his memoir "Decision Points" in Dallas last year.

(Credit: Getty Images)

Updated 4:45 p.m. ET

Former President George W. Bush is speaking candidly for the first time about the death of Osama bin Laden in an interview for the National Geographic Channel for a special which will debut next month.

"I felt a sense of closure. And I felt a sense of gratitude," Mr. Bush said when asked about Bin Laden's death for the National Geographic Channel's special tied to the 10th anniversary of September 11th, according to a press release.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former president agreed to the interview after four months of negotiations under the condition it be limited to activities surrounding that day's tragic events.

Coincidentally, the interview was scheduled to happen just two days after news broke that Navy Seals had successfully shot and killed bin Laden in a raid on his compound in Pakistan.

Mr. Bush, who reportedly received 500 interview requests immediately following bin Laden's death, refused them all - all except this one.

CBSNews.com special report: The killing of Osama bin Laden
Complete coverage: 9/11 anniversary

"We thought: 'Oh no he's either going to cancel the interview because he's going to run off to Washington or he's going to start talking to everybody,''" New York filmmaker and interviewer Peter Schnall told The Hollywood Reporter. "And to our surprise, that didn't happen."

Schnall, who previously knew Mr. Bush from work on the documentary "Onboard Air Force One," described his relationship with Bush as "friendly".

Though Mr. Bush's official statement following Bin Laden's shooting included phrases like "victory for America" and "justice will be done," the new account gives a fresh and decidedly less straightforward take.

"I didn't... feel any great sense of happiness. Or jubilation," he says in the special according to the channel, which also includes personal stories and sentiments about the traumatic events surrounding 9/11 from the president who receded quickly from the spotlight.

"George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview," which airs on August 28, covers everything from his morning jog on the day of the attacks, to his panicked thoughts of his family's safety, to the pain he felt when catching his first glimpse of Ground Zero.

"From the air it looked like...a giant scar. But when I actually got to the site, it was like walking into hell," the former president tells Schnall.

The special will also include never-before-seen archival footage and exclusive photos and videos given to filmmakers directly from the George W. Bush Presidential Library.


Add a Comment See all 31 Comments
by DevilAnse July 30, 2011 8:17 AM EDT
What did he have to say about stealing the election, causing thousands of unnecessary deaths and driving the Country into bankruptcy ?

WORST PRESIDENT....EVER !
Reply to this comment
by thebob-bob July 29, 2011 11:06 AM EDT
Why is CBS writing anything about the ex "torturer-in chief"?? Baby-Bush is an embarrassment to all Republicans, a war criminal to everyone else. The "Uniter" tore this country apart along ideological and religious lines. He fabricated evidence to start two wars, borrowed trillions to pay for them rather than (gasp!) raise taxes and then deregulated the securities and banking industries (for ideological reasons) and brought the world economy to it's knees... And then The Worst President Ever slipped out of town and has been in hiding since.

Either drag him (and Cheney) into court and try them for War Crimes or ignore the incompetent twit!
Reply to this comment
by hsinco-2009 July 28, 2011 12:08 PM EDT
I guess he feels he lost a soul mate!
Reply to this comment
by expatriate2 July 28, 2011 11:05 AM EDT
Who gives a hot damn what George W. Bush does or doesn't do. He was a political cancer on the American scene and no president ever had a record of greater domestic destruction. He placed the United States in the posture of a debtor nation after conducting a $3 trillion dollar illegal war with the singular basis of "Saddam tried to kill my daddy."
Reply to this comment
by run2jazz2 July 28, 2011 8:08 AM EDT
Stay in the shadow George Bush! Your sheer incompetence amazes me and others who could ever think that the American people would vote for such an bafoon. Go and endorse Rick Perry so people can see the comparison.
Reply to this comment
by deohgee July 28, 2011 6:31 AM EDT
That photo does look like Alfred E Newman!
Reply to this comment
by AlFranken July 28, 2011 5:23 AM EDT
In order for Bush get the support to go in and finish Dad's job for big oil, he needed the American people to rally behind him and 9/11 was his ticket.

Like Reagan made a deal with Iran to hold the hostages till after the election, bush made a deal with Bin Laden to turn a blind eye and not go after him.

so, no

He wasn't happy about it.
Reply to this comment
by tmittelstaed July 28, 2011 1:55 AM EDT
This interview is a complete farcical event.

Bush had a PR team sit down and write the questions and the answers to this interview, then required National Geographic to sign a contract that guarentees that nobody on that interview team will ever admit the truth.

Nobody who doesn't give random, off-the-cuff, unplanned interviews can be trusted to be telling what they really feel.

Bush undoubtedly was p1$$ed off that Obama got bin Laden. For a Democrat to do within his first term, and pretty early in that term, what Bush tried his entire 8 years to do just screams incompetence on Bush.

But Bush probably was also happy that Bin Laden was killed by the US.

Anyone in Bush's position would have the same initial reactions - anger at being embarassed, yet at the same time jubliant that their old nemesis was aced. The two emotions would cancel each other out and your left feeling pretty numb.
Reply to this comment
by jeff-fla July 28, 2011 7:13 AM EDT
The bin laden family were Bush family friends. At one time Osama and G.W.Bush were business partners. He wasn't glad to see his old friend die.
by 1stlttightwad July 28, 2011 8:16 AM EDT
Ya mean like Obama's twitter and facebook town hall meetings.
by slappy_mcjohnson July 28, 2011 1:29 AM EDT
"Now, now, uh, Bin Laden, eh? Sorry, I don't recognize the name...."

(Aide whispers in his ear, then...)

"Oh sorry, folks. Yeah - the thing with the planes and the buildings. I forgot about that!"
Reply to this comment
by stinger35773 July 28, 2011 11:21 AM EDT
Just like when he was told Bin Laden was going to strike in the August 6 2001 PDB.
by aintfakin July 27, 2011 11:16 PM EDT
Bush agreed tom this one interview because he could control the questions.
Same as all his town hall meetings where all the attendees were carefully screened.
This guy cannot and never could think on his feet. All the time Cheney was telling everyone to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Reply to this comment
by tmittelstaed July 28, 2011 1:23 AM EDT
I would guess that Bush was given all the questions weeks beforehand and his PR person directed the answers.
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