President George Bush gestures while delivering a speech on homeland security on a pier of the South Carolina State Ports Authority Thursday. Associated Press

President stands by war

Speech spurns critics of intelligence

CHARLESTON, S.C. - President Bush said Thursday that "America did the right thing in Iraq" because Saddam Hussein had the capability to develop weapons of mass destruction and a history of using them.

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President Bush holds an unidentified child Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004, during a visit to the Charleston Air Force Base in North Charleston, S.C. Associated Press President Bush shakes the hand of Landon Sanford, 10, right, and Bolton, 8, as their father South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford stands over them as Bush arrives for a speech on Homeland Security. Associated Press

Citing this week's comments by former weapons inspector David Kay, Mr. Bush said, "We have not yet found the stockpiles of weapons that we thought were there."

Still, he said, "Knowing what I knew then and knowing what I know today, America did the right thing in Iraq."

Mr. Bush's speech at Charleston Harbor was billed as a talk about homeland security. Yet a substantial portion was devoted to rebutting the criticism that has followed Mr. Kay's assertion that U.S. intelligence was "almost all wrong" about Saddam's alleged cache of weapons.

"In Iraq, our survey group is on the ground, looking for the truth," Mr. Bush said as CIA Director George Tenet was defending the intelligence community's prewar efforts during a speech back in Washington. "We will compare what the intelligence indicated before the war with what we have learned afterward," Mr. Bush said.

He insisted, however, that Saddam had the "capability to produce weapons of mass destruction." The president said the former Iraqi leader had scientists and technology in place to make those weapons. In addition, Mr. Bush said, Saddam was developing delivery systems - ballistic missiles that the United Nations had prohibited.

"We know Saddam Hussein had the intent to arm his regime with weapons of mass destruction because he hid all those activities from the world until the last day of his regime," Mr. Bush said, adding that Saddam also had a record of using weapons of mass destruction against his enemies and Iraqi citizens.

The president touted his administration's efforts to keep dangerous cargo out of the country, highlighting proposals to raise spending for port security by 13 percent over last year.

The president's visit to Charleston was the second time in a week that he has visited a state two days after a crucial Democratic presidential primary.

--From the Friday, February 6, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle