Bush has no regrets over war

WASHINGTON: President George W Bush said Friday that a search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq made clear that Saddam Hussein had deceived the international community and was ‘‘a danger to the world.’’
But in a rebuttal by a leading congressional critic, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said the results of the search to date demonstrated no imminent threat existed ‘‘and there was time for more diplomatic effort before we went to war’’.
Bush made his comments at the White House, Pelosi in Congress, the two offering differing interpretations of an interim report submitted by chief US weapons inspector David Kay.
While Kay’s initial report said no weapons of mass destruction have been found, Bush said the investigation showed that Saddam was violating UN resolutions demanding that he disarm.
‘‘So he’s no longer in power and the world is better for it,’’ the president said.
Bush seized on possible evidence of covert programs to make illegal weapons and said that extensive work remains to be done.
‘‘But these findings already make clear that Saddam Hussein actively deceived the international community, that Saddam Hussein, was in clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 and that Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world,’’ he said.
The president brushed aside a poll that said public confidence in his ability to deal wisely with an international crisis had dropped sharply. ‘‘Sometimes the American people like the decisions I make, sometimes they don’t,’’ he said. ‘‘But they need to know I’ll make tough decisions based upon what I think is right.’’
Pelosi, who met with Kay in a secure room in the Capitol building , emerged to tell reporters that ‘‘it was clear to me that there was no imminence of a threat for weapons of mass destruction,’’ as the White House had claimed.
She said the discoveries made so far are evidence of Iraq’s aspiration for a weapons program, but added there was a difference between that and achieving the ability to deploy such weapons.
Pelosi, who voted against last year’s authorization of the use of force in Iraq, said the classified intelligence she saw at the time did not support the claim of an imminent threat of the banned weapons.
‘‘That was correct,’’ she told reporters after meeting with Kay.