Bush Defends Iraq Invasion

Defending his decision to invade Iraq, President Bush says Saddam Hussein was a madman with the ability to make weapons of destruction and could have developed a nuclear weapon over time.

"Saddam Hussein was dangerous, and I'm not just going to leave him in power and trust a madman," said Mr. Bush in an Oval Office interview broadcast Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "He's a dangerous man. He had the ability to make weapons at the very minimum."

President Bush continued to link the invasion of Iraq with war on terror.

"For the parents of the soldiers who have fallen who are listening, David Kay, the weapons inspector, came back and said, in many ways Iraq was more dangerous than we thought," the president said. "We are in a war against these terrorists who could bring great harm to America, and I've asked these young ones to sacrifice for that."

President Bush has linked Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein in the past, but added there is no evidence linking Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, a harsh critic of the Bush administration, expressed doubt Sunday about the claim that Iraq was capable of making weapons of mass destruction. "Now we hear a case saying that 'Well, there were programs, there were laboratories that were suitable ... or there were intentions,'" Blix said in a broadcast interview. "I would say, 'All right, let's have evidence of that.'''

Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry also took issue with Bush's claim. "This is a far cry from what the president and his administration told the people in 2002," Kerry said. Kerry said Bush was "telling the American people stories back in 2002" about the extent of the threat posed by Saddam.

Bush denied he led the United States into war under false pretenses, but he acknowledged that some prewar 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.

"We will find out about the weapons of mass destruction that we all thought were there," Bush said in the interview taped Saturday with host Tim Russert. It was broadcast Sunday.

Bush, who pledged after the Sept. 11 attacks to get suspected mastermind Osama bin Laden "dead or alive," said Sunday: "I have no idea whether we will capture or bring him to justice."

Bush said former chief weapons inspector David Kay, who has said that U.S. intelligence was "almost all wrong" about Saddam's arms, said Saddam found the "capacity to produce weapons." Bush went on to speculate about what happened to the weapons.

"They could have been destroyed during the war. Saddam and his henchmen could have destroyed them as we entered into Iraq," Bush said. "They could be hidden. They could have been transported to another country, and we'll find out."

Bush said he decided to go to war based on the intelligence he had at hand about Saddam, but said CIA Director George Tenet's job is not in jeopardy. "I strongly believe the CIA is ably led by George Tenet," he said.

"Intelligence is a vital part of fighting and winning the war against the terrorists. It is because the war against terrorists is a war against individuals who hide in caves in remote parts of the world, individuals who have these kind of shadowy networks, individuals who deal with rogue nations. So, we need a good intelligence system. We need really good intelligence," Bush said.

While Bush heavily based the decision to wage war on the rationale that Saddam had forbidden weapons at the ready, the president continued in the interview to emphasize his contention about Saddam's dictatorial rule — that Saddam brutalized Iraqis and had connections to terrorist groups.

"I repeat to you what I strongly believe, that inaction in Iraq would have emboldened Saddam Hussein," Bush said. "He could have developed a nuclear weapon over time — I'm not saying immediately, but over time. ... We would have been in a position of blackmail. In other words, you can't rely upon a madman."

"And by the way, by clearly stating policy, whether it be in Afghanistan or stating the policy that we expect you, Mr. Saddam Hussein, to disarm, your choice to disarm, but if you don't, there will be serious consequences in following through, it has had positive effects in the world.

"Libya, for example, there was a positive effect in Libya where Moammar Gadhafi voluntarily disclosed his weapons programs and agreed to dismantle them, and the world is a better place as a result of that. And the world is a safer and better place as a result of Saddam Hussein not being in power," Bush said.

When questioned why the United States does not invade other dictatorial nations like Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Myanmar, Bush replied: "I felt like we needed to use force in Iraq and not in North Korea, because we had run the diplomatic string in Iraq. As a matter of fact, failed diplomacy could embolden Saddam Hussein in the face of this war we were in."

In North Korea, Bush said, "The diplomacy is just beginning. We are making good progress in North Korea.

"As I've said in my speeches, every situation requires a different response and a different analysis, and so in Iran there is no question they're in danger, but the international community is now trying to convince Iran to get rid of its nuclear weapons program. And on the Korean peninsula, now the United States and China, along with South Korea and Japan and Russia, are sending a clear message to Kim Jung Il, if you are interested in a different relationship, disclose and destroy your program in a transparent way.

Among the other issues discussed in the interview, Bush: