White House: Bush surprised by Greenspan criticism

Copies of "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World" by former federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan are seen in a local book store in Washington, DC. Greenspan abandons his trademark reserve Monday, in a new book which takes swipes at the White House for everything from its motives for invading Iraq to its unbridled spending.

Copies of "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World" by former federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan are seen in a local book store in Washington, DC. Greenspan abandons his trademark reserve Monday, in a new book which takes swipes at the White House for everything from its motives for invading Iraq to its unbridled spending.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush was surprised by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan who in his new book criticized the Bush administration harshly, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday.

"The president was a bit surprised by some of the criticism in the book," she said.

U.S. President George W. Bush was surprised by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan who in his new book criticized the Bush administration harshly, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday.

Alan Greenspan speaks at Book Expo America in New York June 1, 2007. (File Photo)
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In the 500-page book, "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World," Greenspan accuses the administration and the Republican-controlled Congress of abandoning their party's principles on spending and deficits, according to The New York Times on Friday.

The former U.S. central bank chief describes the administration as so captive to its own political operation that it paid little attention to fiscal discipline.

"My biggest frustration remained the president's unwillingness to wield his veto against out-of-control spending," Greenspan wrote in the memoir.

Defending Bush's fiscal policies, Perino said that veto threats from the president were enough to keep spending from spiraling too high.

U.S. President George W. Bush was surprised by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan who in his new book criticized the Bush administration harshly, White House press secretary Dana Perino said Monday.

President Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in Washington in this Nov. 9, 2005 file photo. (File Photo)
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Under Bush, government spending for the fight against terrorism increased, and Perino said the Bush administration does not need to apologize for acting on behalf of "the safety and security of the American people."

Greenspan also alleges in his book that "the Iraq war is largely about oil."

But Perino said that Greenspan has since "acknowledged that oil was not the president's motive for our engagement in Iraq."

Greenspan, 81, was chief of the Federal Reserve from August 1987 until January 2006. He was the second-longest serving chairman in the Fed's 93-year history.

Greenspan: Iraq war was really for oil

LONDON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, in a memoir to be released Monday, says the prime motive for the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was oil, The Sunday Times reported.

In his long-awaited memoir, Greenspan will also deliver a stinging critique of U.S. President George W. Bush's economic policies, according to the paper. Full story