GRAND RAPIDS -- Former President George W. Bush was by turns affable, relaxed -- and deadly serious in his local appearance Wednesday.

"Yeah, we water-boarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," Bush said of the terrorist who master-minded the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. He said that event shaped his presidency and convinced him the nation was in a war against terror.

"I'd do it again to save lives."

In a speech and question-and-answer session before the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, Bush defended his decision to go to war in 2003 with Iraq.

"Getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do and the world is a better place without him," Bush said.

But he also made it clear he would leave political potshots at President Barack Obama to others, saying: "You are not going to see me in the public square criticizing the president."

Bush underlined the role religion played in his life in the White House, saying prayer gave him strength to go forward.

"I prayed a lot. I really did. I prayed before every major speech. I prayed before debates. It was a very important experience."

The speech may offer a glimpse of Bush's forthcoming memoir, "Decision Points," to be released in November. Bush said it would dissect the major decisions of his presidency.

Bush, 63, has for the most part avoided the political spotlight since leaving the White House. In sharp contrast to former Vice President Dick Cheney, he also has restrained from speaking out against Obama.

"I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity," he said in February.

"I didn't like it when a certain former president made my life miserable," he said, a reference to former President Jimmy Carter and his frequent criticisms of Bush.

Cheney has been especially disparaging of Obama's conduct on security issues, accusing him in 2009 of projecting "weakness" by delaying his decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Bush and his wife, Laura, live in a secluded Dallas suburb, where Bush has been at work on his memoir.

In his most conspicuous public commitment since his presidency, Bush in January joined with former President Bill Clinton to establish a fund for relief and recovery efforts following the Haiti earthquake.

Bush on Wednesday spoke to a DeVos Place crowd of approximately 2,300, mixing humor, anecdotes and serious moments from his presidency.

Referring to his decision to wear an old tuxedo and Laura Bush's reaction to it, Bush said: "'Read my lips, no new tuxes.'"

HE SAID IT Bush on the Tea Party: "These movements come and go." Bush on religion: "I don't see how you can be president and not believe in a higher power." Bush on allies: "My best pal in the international arena was (former) British Prime Minister Tony Blair." Bush on his wife, Laura: "She was a fabulous companion on one of life's great journeys."

Bush said his greatest disappointment as president was failing to push through Social Security reform, a major campaign issue of his in 2004. Bush said Republican leadership balked at the proposal, saying it would cost them votes: "And the leadership of our party looked at me and said no."

He also confessed that the failed 1992 campaign of his father, then-President George H. W. Bush, was one of the hardest years of his life.

"Being a son of the president is a lot harder than being president," he said.

Bush recalled the morning of the 2001 attacks, how he learned that first one, then two planes had hit the World Trade Center and then a third plane had hit the Pentagon.

The third plane, he said, "was a declaration of war on our country."

Bush recounted the story of former East Grand Rapids resident Bill Krissoff, an orthopedic surgeon who pressed Bush at age 61 in 2007 to let him join the Navy as a combat surgeon in honor of his son. Marine Lt. Nathan Krissoff, 25, had been killed in a December 2006 roadside bomb explosion in Iraq.

Krissoff served a year in Iraq and now is serving at age 63 in Afghanistan, Bush said.

"America produces amazing people like Dr. Krissoff," Bush said.

His Grand Rapids appearance extends a string of high-profile figures at the club's annual dinner, including such luminaries as former President Bill Clinton, rock star Bono, former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell and former NBC News Anchor Tom Brokaw.

A pair of local businessmen were honored for their contributions to West Michigan.

Jim Dunlap, senior executive vice president of Huntington Bancshares, was named Business Person of the Year. He chairs The Right Place Inc. and previously chaired boards for several local charities, including: Heart of West Michigan United Way, the YMCA and major events for DeVos Children's Hospital, the American Cancer Society and the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

Mike Jandernoa, former CEO of Perrigo Co., received the Econ Club's Slykhouse Lifetime Achievement award. The award honors Jandernoa's efforts to help the region grow economically and prosper.

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