US President George W Bush's defence of the decision to attack Iraq today has been condemned by Democrats.
An opinion poll published today also shows the majority of Americans believe his decision was wrong.
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Mr Bush made an impromptu appearance on the White House lawn to defend the attack despite mounting evidence that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction.
Former chief UN weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix, who led the search for WMD before the attack, today said the case for war had not been proven. And yesterday, a CIA appointed inspector in Iraq, Dr David Kay, said in his interim report that he failed to find evidence of chemical or biological weapons development.
But Mr Bush pointed out Dr Kay's findings were preliminary and asserted that Baghdad had been developing unconventional weapons.
"I can't think of any people who think that the world would be a safe place with Saddam Hussein in power," the President said.
Opposition Democrats were unconvinced, saying the CIA report showed there had been no immediate threat from Iraq and that the war appeared to have been fought under false pretences.
House minority leader Ms Nancy Pelosi, said after meeting Dr Kay she had concluded "there was no imminent threat".
She said there was a "big difference" between having aspirations to possess WMD, and actually having them available for use.
Dissent among the American people was also in evidence today as CBS- New York Timespoll showed a drop in American confidence on the president's skill in handling crises.
The poll found 41 per cent of respondents agreeing the war was worth the cost, while 53 per cent said it was not. However, about half said it was worth removing Saddam from power.
"Sometimes the American people like the decisions I make, sometimes they don't. But they need to know I make tough decisions, based upon what I think is right, given the intelligence I know, in order to do my job, which is to secure this country and to bring peace," Mr Bush said.
"Specifically Dr Kay's team discovered what the report calls, and I quote, dozens of WMD-related program activities, and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002," Mr Bush said.
The findings made clear that "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," he added.