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Bush: I would do it again
By Charles Hoskinson, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
July 11, 2004
The Sun-Herald
President George Bush yesterday defended his war on Iraq while campaigning in the key battleground of Pennsylvania, saying he would do "whatever I can to defend America".
Even as he took an uncompromising tone towards critics of the US-led war, Mr Bush also pledged to make needed reforms following the release of a senate report that slammed pre-war intelligence failures.
"I look forward to working with members of Congress to put out reforms that will work," he said at a campaign event in Kutztown.
"I haven't seen the report yet. I understand it's quite critical."
The President reminded several hundred supporters why he ordered the assault on Iraq in March last year, saying the world knew ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had been trying to acquire banned nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
"We haven't found the stockpiles, but we knew he could make them," he said.
Later, in Lancaster, Mr Bush insisted: "I would have done it again," if he had a second chance.
"I looked at the intelligence and the facts and came to the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a threat to America," he said.
"Congress looked at the very same intelligence I did - the exact same intelligence - and came to the same conclusion I did. Interestingly enough, so did the United Nations.
"When you add it up, America is a more secure place because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power."
Mr Bush, locked in an opinion poll dead heat with his Democratic rival, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, has sought to focus public attention on homeland security and fighting terrorism, because those are areas where polls show voters trust him more.
Iraq, however, has become a political liability for the Republican as he seeks re-election on November 2.
Democrats, US allies, and even former members of his own administration have cast doubts on the decision to go to war, eroding popular support for US involvement amid ongoing violence and the failure to find any banned weapons. Dozens of protesters holding anti-war signs mixed with cheering supporters along the 177 kilometre route of Mr Bush's bus caravan through south-eastern Pennsylvania's Amish country.
Some chanted "four more months," a reference to their hope that Senator Kerry wins the election. The Senate Intelligence Committee's report is likely to fuel the controversy, even though investigators found no evidence the administration pressured intelligence officials to skew their judgments.
The report instead concluded US intelligence agencies mischaracterised Iraq's weapons programs, and said key judgments were either overstated or not supported by evidence.
The report also faulted US intelligence services for failures before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US.
Yesterday Mr Kerry accused Vice- President Dick Cheney of exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam and has hammered Mr Bush for causing the US to lose respect in the eyes of the world.
"America is leading the world with confidence and moral clarity," Mr Bush responded.
Accompanying Mr Bush for the first time was his daughter, Jenna Bush, 22. She stayed mostly in the background, but came out to shake hands with rescue workers and shoot a video of her father greeting patrons in a diner.
Her twin sister, Barbara, will probably join the campaign next week, Mr Bush's campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said.
Both graduated from college earlier this year and agreed to help their father's re-election bid.
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