Scott McClellan, former spokesman for U.S. President George Bush, says he should have spoken up sooner about his doubts about the leak of the identity of a U.S. intelligence agent and about the rationale for invading Iraq.
McClellan said on U.S. television Sunday that he blames his failure to do so on youth and inexperience. He says he believes White House staffers should resign if they have a strong disagreement with the president.
McClellan wrote about his doubts about the Bush administration in his new memoir, which says the White House relied on "innuendo and implication" to bolster its claim that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction.
McClellan also said he believes White House aide Karl Rove should have left his job over his alleged involvement in the leak about the identity of a CIA agent. Rove denies he was involved.
McClellan served as the top White House spokesman from 2003 to 2006.
Current and former Bush administration officials have criticized McClellan over the allegations in his book titled "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," which is due out this week.
The Bush administration calls McClellan "disgruntled" and says the president is "puzzled" by McClellan's assertions.
