Former US President George W. Bush in his recently released memoirs Decision Points says Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told the US Saddam's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.
That intelligence allegedly came in the lead-up to to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
"President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had told [general] Tommy Franks that Iraq had biological weapons and was certain to use them on our troops," Bush reveals in the book.
Mubarak "refused to make the allegation in public for fear of inciting the Arab street," the former US president says.
"Intelligence from a Middle Eastern leader who knew [former Iraqi president] Saddam [Hussein] well had an impact on my thinking," he adds.
In early 2003, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Bush uncertainty over the war was hurting the economy. Concern pervaded among America's Middle East allies, as well.
"Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s longtime ambassador to Washington and a friend of mine since dad’s presidency, came to the Oval Office and told me our allies in the Middle East wanted a decision," Bush said.
Another person who had a strong impact on his war decision was holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Elie Wiesel, who compared Saddam Hussein's brutality to the Nazi genocide.
He also wrote about his reaction when WMDs were not found.
"No one was more shocked or angry than I was when we didn't find the weapons [of mass destruction]. I had a sickening feeling every time I thought about it. I still do," Bush says.
Bush admits the fight in Iraq was more difficult than expected, but he continues to believe the American occupation was a chance for democracy to take root in the region.
In his book, Bush defends other controversial war decisions vigorously. He says the Afghanistan war was necessary to uproot Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"History can debate the decisions I made, the policies I chose, and the tools I left behind," Bush writes. "But there can be no debate about one fact. After the nightmare of 11 September, America went seven and a half years without another successful terrorist attack on our soil. If I had to summarize my most meaningful accomplishment as president in one sentence, that would be it."
"Whatever the verdict on my presidency, I’m comfortable with the fact that I won’t be around to hear it. That’s a decision point only history will reach," Bush says.
