US inspectors have wrapped up their search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, CNN quoted a US intelligence official saying.
The United States is now trying to determine how it received erroneous intelligence that deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was developing and stockpiling nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday.
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"Our friends and allies had the same intelligence that we had when it came to Saddam Hussein," he said. "Now we need to continue to move forward to find out what went wrong and to correct those flaws.
"That's exactly what the independent commission the president appointed is going to do," McClellan said. "They're going to make recommendations, and the president is committed to acting on those recommendations."
At the same time, he said, President Bush stands by the decision to invade Iraq.
"We had a regime that had a history of using weapons of mass destruction and had a history of defying the international community and had a history of ties to terrorist organizations in Iraq," he said. "We had the attacks on September 11 [2001], that taught us we must confront threats before it's too late.
"That's what the president's committed to doing," he said. "Because this is about making America more secure."
The search ended almost two years after President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, saying intelligence indicated Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction and may have hidden weapons stockpiles.