An award-winning journalist of The Washington Post told a full audience Tuesday night "the thing we have to worry about (in our world), the thing that will do us in, is secret government."

Bob Woodward, co-author and author of more No. 1 national best-selling nonfiction books than any contemporary writer, spoke about his time as an investigative reporter assigned to the Watergate scandal and his interviews with George W. Bush.

Woodward said in spring of 2006 a secret report stated, "There were (800) or 900 attacks on U.S. forces or Iraqi authorities each week."

"That's four attacks an hour, every hour," he said. This is contrary to what Bush said in May of the same year, which was "this is a point in history where terrorists will begin their long retreat."

Woodward was the first speaker hosted by the UT Issues Committee this semester. Josh Kurlantzick, an author, will be the second on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Auditorium.

The thing we have to worry about (in our world), the thing that will do us in, is secret government. Bob Woodward

Woodward spoke at good length about the time President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon on Sunday morning television following the Watergate scandal. It ultimately cost him the election against Jimmy Carter in 1976. Reexamining the scandal 25 years later, Woodward thinks Ford did the necessary thing for the country.

"It shows that you don't know how much we know about what goes on and made me ask how we judge the meaning of what occurred," Woodward said.

Woodward also spoke of his feelings on the Iraq War, calling it "the most important thing going on in our country and our world." For his book "Plan of Attack," The Washington Post gave him a year to discover why we went to war, how it happened and how Bush decided on it.

What followed was a three and a half hour interview with the president spanning two afternoons. It was the longest interview on a single subject a president has ever given.

Woodward said he asked Bush about what Bush Sr.'s advice was about going to war with Saddam Hussein, since he had gone to war with him a little over a decade ago. Bush told him that he never talked to his dad about his choice to go to war, which Woodward said was "the most important decision he would make for the country."

Woodward said Bush went to war because he really believed they had weapons of mass destruction, he thought it would be easy, he had an obligation to go on the offensive, and he thought it was essential to take care of terrorist threats early.

Woodward said Bush went as far to say, "I believe we have a duty to free people, to liberate people. People who are freed and liberated really appreciate it."

Woodward said, "My assessment based on years of reporting on this is that he really does believe it. You have to understand that to understand where we are today in the war. That there is an idealism, a sense of duty, a sense of zeal, to liberate people. This is a core part of President Bush's mind and sense of what he needs to do as president. That accounts for his unwillingness to change course."

Speaking about what the administration thought at the time, Woodward gives a quote from Stephen Hadley, former White House National Security Adviser. When Hadley was asked by a colleague what grade he would give the administration in handling the war on terror, he said, "In terms of implementing foreign policy, I would give us a D minus."

In closing, Woodward noted a quote from his book that Sen. Hillary Clinton told him she frequently uses in her speeches. When Woodward asked Bush during his interview how he thought history would judge his war on Iraq, Bush replied, "History? We won't know. We'll all be dead."