US President George W. Bush on Friday defended his Iraq policy from criticism within his own Republican Party, saying he would consult with others but make decisions based on the "latest intelligence."
Bush has made ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein one of his top priorities, but dissent from within his own political ranks has persisted.
The national security adviser during Bush's father's presidency said on Thursday an attack on the oil-producing nation could alienate US allies.
Bush characterized that dissent as a healthy debate, but left no doubt about his opinion.
"I listened carefully to what they have to say," Bush said. "There should be no doubt in anybody's mind that this man [Saddam] is thumbing his nose at the world, that he has gassed his own people, that he is trouble in his neighborhood, that he desires weapons of mass destruction."
Former US national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, a key member of the previous Bush administration who helped build a coalition for the Gulf War against Iraq, reiterated his concerns in a Thursday Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
"An attack on Iraq at this time would seriously jeopardize, if not destroy, the global counter-terrorist campaign we have undertaken," Scowcroft wrote.
"There is a virtual consensus in the world against an attack on Iraq at this time. So long as that sentiment persists, it would require the US to pursue a virtual go-it-alone strategy against Iraq, making any military operations correspondingly more difficult and expensive," he continued.
Other key Republicans have also voiced concern, warning that Bush has failed to make a strong case for an attack on Iraq and that a war could undermine the US fight against global terrorism and destabilize the Middle East even further.
US House of Representatives Majority Leader Dick Armey has said the US has no business attacking the oil exporter without sufficient provocation.
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