Washington, June 10: US President George W. Bush promised that "history and time will prove" that Iraq had unconventional arms programmes and denied that US credibility is at stake in the search for such weapons. "Iraq had a weapons programme. Intelligence throughout the decade showed he had a weapons programme. I am absolutely convinced, with time, we'll find out that they did have a weapons programme," he told reporters yesterday.
The Bush administration has come under heavy fire from opposition democrats and other critics at home and abroad who charge that it exaggerated the threat Saddam posed in order to win public support for the campaign.
US-led forces have yet to locate conclusive evidence backing the US leader's central case for war: that Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons, pursued nuclear arms, and might one day have armed terrorists with them.
"History and time will prove that the United States made the absolute right decision in freeing the people of Iraq from the clutches of Saddam Hussein," the US leader told reporters after meeting with his cabinet.
During a visit to Lisbon, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that any suggestion that US leaders ignored intelligence reporting on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction was "false on its face."
"I have no doubt but that the intelligence was done in this country and other countries, and which we have watched become richer and fuller over the years, will end up proving to be correct," Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington. Bureau Report