NEW YORK, Feb 8: US President George W. Bush defended on Sunday his decision to invade Iraq, saying Saddam Hussein had the capacity to develop unconventional arms if not the actual weapons.
He asserted that he did not believe that the more than 500 Americans killed in the war died in vain. Mr Bush called the invasion of Iraq as a "war of necessity" and said he was not surprised by attacks on US troops there.
Reeling under severe criticism for attacking Iraq, President Bush in an hour-long interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" made an attempt to repair his job approval ratings, which have dipped significantly and could threaten his re-election.
While conceding that it was 'correct' that weapons of mass destruction had not been found in Iraq, he gave a different reason why the war was necessary. "He had the capacity to have a weapon, make a weapon. We thought he had weapons. The international community thought he had weapons. But he had the capacity to make a weapon and then let that weapon fall into the hands of a shadowy terrorist network," President Bush said.
He denied that he led the United States into war under false pretences, but he acknowledged that some pre-war intelligence apparently was inaccurate. He did not directly respond to election-year allegations that his administration exaggerated intelligence to bolster a march to oust the Iraqi president.
President Bush argued strenuously that CIA Director George Tenet was doing a good job, but he blamed the intelligence for his pre-war convictions that Iraq was a danger.
"I expected to find the weapons ... I based my decision on the best intelligence possible, intelligence that had been gathered over the years, intelligence that not only our analysts thought was valid, but analysts from other countries thought were valid," he said.
He also defended his decision to put off a report by a new intelligence commission until well after the November election and said voters would have ample time to assess "whether or not I made the right decision" in invading Iraq.
He gave the commission until March 31, 2005, to report back, meaning the results would not be known until after November when voters decide whether to give him a second term. Democrats want it sooner.
"We didn't want to be hurried," President Bush said. "And it's important that this investigation take its time."
APP ADDS: "A war of choice or a war of necessity? It's a war of necessity," President Bush said and added: "The evidence we have uncovered thus far says we had no choice."
"There's theories as to where the weapons went. They could have been destroyed during the war. Saddam and his henchmen could have destroyed them as we entered into Iraq. They could be hidden. "They could have been transported to another country, and we will find out," he said.
