President Bush on Wednesday dismissed as “preposterous” suggestions that he is falsifying intelligence in order to gin up a war against Iran.
Bush confirmed intelligence reports that the Quds Force, which is part of Iran’s government, is supplying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to Iraqi insurgents for use against American troops as roadside bombs.
“I can’t say it more plainly: There are weapons in Iraq that are harming U.S. troops because of the Quds Force,” Bush said at an East Room press conference. “And I intend to do something about it.”
Reporters expressed skepticism, reminding Bush that pre-war intelligence mistakenly asserted that Iraq had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction. The president responded by rejecting the notion that he was creating “a pretext for war” against Iran.
“The idea that somehow we’re manufacturing the idea that the Iranians are providing IEDs is preposterous,” he said. “My job is to protect our troops. And when we find devices that are in that country that are hurting our troops, we’re going to do something about it, pure and simple.”
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said Tuesday he was “a little skeptical about that kind of information,” especially in the wake of the flawed intelligence on pre-war Iraq.
“Fool me once, your fault; fool me twice, my fault,” said Dodd, who is running for president, to a TV interviewer. “That sort of drumbeat, putting out information to start to build the case, we’ve been down that road in the past.”
“You can’t blame me,” he added, “for being a little uneasy when I hear these drumbeats about Iran.”
Bush said he had no way of knowing whether the Quds Force was acting on specific orders from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“What we don’t know is whether or not the head leaders of Iran ordered the Quds Force to do what they did,” the president said.
“But here’s my point: Either they knew or didn’t know,” he added. “What’s worse: That the government knew or that the government didn’t know?”
