Bush ‘Responsible’ for Iraq Decision

By David Jackson

WASHINGTON — President Bush took responsibility Wednesday for going to war in Iraq based on faulty weapons intelligence, but he insisted that deposing Saddam Hussein protected U.S. security.

“It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong,” Bush said in the last of four Iraq speeches preceding today’s national elections there.

He added: “As president, I’m responsible for the decision to go into Iraq, and I’m also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities.”

It was his most direct admission about the failure to find the banned weapons that had been a chief reason for the war. In his three previous speeches since Nov. 30, Bush admitted shortcomings concerning Iraq’s security, reconstruction, and political development.

The White House said it designed the speeches to rebuild flagging support for the war, with a new tone aimed at winning back independents and moderate Democrats. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush has acknowledged setbacks in Iraq to show how the administration has adapted to changed circumstances. All wars have mistakes, he said, “but what is important is that we have a clear plan for winning.”

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said Bush has no choice but to address problems, lest he be seen as “in denial.”

“The notion that he is not realistic undercuts his credibility,” she said.

War critics say Bush shifted his rationale for the war after failing to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. “The Bush administration manipulated intelligence to mislead the public and to establish a pretext to attack a nation which did not attack us,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.

Bush said foreign intelligence agencies, including from nations that opposed the war, also believed Iraq had such weapons. So did some members of Congress who are now criticizing him, the president said.

He decried “irresponsible charges” about the war, such as that it was fought for oil or for Israel, or that his administration manipulated weapons intelligence. Bush called the latter charge “pure politics.”

Bush counseled patience after the Iraqi parliamentary elections, saying it will take time for the nation to count the votes and form a new government.

The 9/11 attacks changed his thinking about threats, Bush said, citing Iraq’s past aggression.

“Given Saddam’s history, and the lessons of September the 11th, my decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision,” Bush said.

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