'It Was Like Walking Into Hell'

George W. Bush explains what was going through his mind as he learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11.

He said: 'My first reaction was anger. Who the hell would do that to America? Then I immediately focused on the children, and the contrast between the attack and the innocence of children.'

Bush was sitting with a group of children who were reading aloud when he said he saw reporters at the back of the room getting the news on their cellphones, which he described as like 'watching a silent movie'.

Then his chief of staff Andy Card walked behind him and whispered in his ear: 'A second plane has hit the second tower. America is under attack.'

He said he realized a lot of people beyond that classroom would be watching for his reaction.

'So I made the decision not to jump up immediately and leave the classroom. I didn’t want to rattle the kids. I wanted to project a sense of calm,' he said.

A sense of calm. Unlike his successor, who uses every "crisis" he can find to instill panic in the public.

He goes on to describe his most iconic moment in the aftermath.

In the hour-long interview, which will be broadcast on August 28 as part of a week of programmes on the cable network that mark the tenth anniversary of the attacks, Bush also said that visiting the site was like walking into hell.

He said: 'From the air it looked like a giant scar. But when I actually got to the site, it was like walking into hell.