WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush took the blame on Wednesday for going to war in Iraq over faulty intelligence but said he was right to topple Saddam Hussein and urged Americans to be patient as Iraqis vote.
"It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq, and I am also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities and we’re doing just that," he said.
His administration touted Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as a reason for going to war in March 2003, but such weapons were never found.
The president is facing both low popularity ratings and waning public support for the war. A smooth election would help him build a sense of progress in Iraq, where more than 2,100 U.S. troops have died since the start of the war and critics are asking when the nearly 160,000 U.S. troops there will come home.
Bush’s comments quickly drew fire from 40 Senate Democrats and one independent who sent him a letter demanding he provide a plan that identifies “the remaining political, economic, and military benchmarks that must be met and a reasonable schedule to achieve them.”
“The president’s speech today failed to provide the American people with any insight into his strategy for completing the mission,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy said that despite Bush’s admission of mistakes, “the misguided war in Iraq was, in fact, a war of choice.”
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“There was no reason for America to go to war when we did, the way we did, and for the false reasons we were given,” he said.** Bush says Iraq war is all his fault
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finally the most stupidest president ever admits what the whole world already knew ages ago, that the United States went to war based on lies and Fraud!**
Re: Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence, admits its all his Fault!
By admitting he f’ed up isnt gonna solve anything. This is just a diplomatic stint. Nothing more to it. He prolly figured they’ll march in Bag Dad and it will be hunky dory. It didnt quite turn out that way.
If he really was sincere he would have fixed sh* in his own administration first, getting rid of neo-cons like Rumsfeld, Cheney and others. And keeping good folks like Powell maybe and adding McCain in his adminstration.
Re: Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence, admits its all his Fault!
He didn't say he is "at fault", he only said that he is solely responsible for going into invasion, though he still arrogantly says that it was right decision.
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"Saddam was a threat — and the American people and the world is better off because he is no longer in power," Bush declared, as he has before.
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whata shmuck, even after it is proved that no WMD exist, he still continues to say that he was a thread to American people.
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As in the past, Bush acknowledged no regrets about launching the war despite the problems with his initial justification.
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Re: Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence, admits its all his Fault!
just an attempt to increase the poll numbers. Many Americans feel Bush is not truthful with the public on Iraq, so now he is admitting the obvious, and his poll numbers are going up....nothing more than political spin..
Re: Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence, admits its all his Fault!
so..will he face the consequences. I mean by law, he should be punished no? No-one would get away with holding up their hands to murder and deceit. Is the President above the law?
Re: Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence, admits its all his Fault!
Agreed. That murdered should be on trial, along with the other clowns in his administration. The fact that they won’t ever be, makes me very, very sick to my stomach.
Bush for Death Row