U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice says she remains convinced Iraq wanted to acquire nuclear weapons before last year's invasion.
Before the invasion, Rice and various security officials claimed Iraq had acquired thousands of aluminum tubes destined for use in a nuclear weapons program.
However, a report published Sunday in the New York Times said the administration did not fully disclose the assessment of some nuclear experts, who concluded the tubes in question were not ideally suited for nuclear arms, and were more likely intended for rocket production.
In response, Rice acknowledged in a CNN interview there had been debate within the intelligence community on the aluminum tubes.
"The fact of the matter is, the president made this decision based on a body of evidence, not just on aluminum tubes, and on the key judgment of his intelligence organization that this was a program of a reconstitution of the nuclear program," said Rice.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
