Tough talk a mistake admits Bush

President George W. Bush admitted that his bellicose "bring 'em on" taunt to Iraqi insurgents was a big mistake.

In July 2003, the tough-talking Texan responded to a question about the emerging Iraqi insurgency by saying "bring 'em on".

Now, after three years of war that has killed more than 2400 Americans and thousands of Iraqis, Bush said that remark was "kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong message to people.

"I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner, you know.

" 'Wanted, dead or alive', that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted."

He also cited the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal as "the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq ...

"We've been paying for that for a long period of time."

- REUTERS