Bush: Iraq war was a necessity
President George W Bush has defended the US invasion of Iraq as a “war of necessity” in a rare TV interview intended to relieve mounting concerns over the war.
Mr Bush previously admitted that intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s weapons was wrong. In the interview he insisted that even though banned weapons have not been found, Iraq was still a threat and could have developed a nuclear device over time.
Speaking to NBC television, Mr Bush declared himself a “war president”, and warned of the terrorist dangers still facing the world.
“I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind. Again, I wish it wasn’t true, but it is true. And the American people need to know they got a president who sees the world the way it is.
“And I see dangers that exist, and it’s important for us to deal with them.”
He refused to be drawn on when Osama bin Laden would be tracked down following speculation that the al Qaeda leader’s capture will be his re-election trump card.
Mr Bush said he still had confidence in CIA Director George Tenet, who is under fire for the faulty intelligence used to justify war in Iraq.
The President has announced an investigation into how the intelligence on Iraq’s weapons capabilities could have been so wrong.
