The US: President Bush yesterday rebuffed his critics' interpretation of the chief US weapons inspector's findings in Iraq, saying Dr David Kay's report showed that "Saddam Hussein was a threat".
The failure to find illegal weapons - the justification for war in Iraq - has renewed criticism of the Bush administration for exaggerating the Iraqi threat, just as the opinion polls show rising dissatisfaction with his leadership.
The second day of testimony on Capitol Hill by Dr Kay, during which he told Congress he and his 1,200-strong team had not found any weapons of mass destruction, was met with more Democratic criticism.
Ms Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House, said yesterday after meeting Dr Kay: "It is clear to me that there was no imminence of a threat from weapons of mass destruction by Iraq . . . it is clear there was time for more diplomatic efforts to be made before we went to war."
The discrepancy between the findings of the team in Iraq headed by Dr Kay and the threat described by Mr Bush and his aides in the run-up to war has also raised growing concerns about the administration's handling of intelligence.
Mr Carl Levin, the most senior Democrat on the committee, said Dr Kay's report "reinforces the need for the investigation into our intelligence to be completed".
Mr Levin called for an inquiry into the intelligence on Iraq in July, after it emerged that the President's claims about Iraq trying to purchase uranium from Niger were false.
Mr Bush's leadership is now facing the most critical scrutiny since he took office. A CBS-New York Times poll published yesterday showed a drop in US confidence in the President's skill in handling problems both at home and abroad.
In particular, the poll found that only 41 per cent said fighting the Iraq war was worth the costs, while 53 per cent said it was not.
As he headed off on a trip to the mid-west yesterday, the President took the unusual step of stopping on the White House lawn to deliver some prepared comments. Mr Bush said Dr Kay's report showed: "Saddam Hussein actively deceived the international community, that Saddam Hussein was in clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, and that Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world." - (Financial Times)
Conor O'Clery adds:
The White House yesterday circulated a memo to staff from counsel Mr Alberto Gonzales telling them they have until Tuesday to supply all relevant documentation to the FBI concerning the leaking of the name of an undercover CIA agent.
This includes paperwork, diaries, memos and e-mails between February 1st, 2002, and September 30th, 2003, regarding the trip of US Ambassador Joseph Wilson - the agent's husband - to Niger in February 2002.
The White House counsel specifically asked staff to include contacts with the news media, especially three reporters Robert Novak, Knut Joyce and Timothy Phelps.
The leak occurred when Mr Novak "outed" Mr Wilson's wife in a column to make the case that the ambassador was anti-war and had been sent to Niger on his wife's recommendation, and this raised questions regarding his pre-war report dismissing intelligence about Iraq's alleged attempt to buy uranium in Niger.