"I take responsibility for putting our troops into action. And I made that decision because (ousted Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein was a threat to our security and a threat to the security of other nations," Bush told reporters at the White House in a joint appearance with Blair.

He said he made the decision because US and British intelligence "made a clear and compelling case that Saddam Hussein was a threat to security and peace."

Bush reiterated allegations that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, adding that he strongly believes Saddam was trying to reconstitute nuclear weapons program.

"We're in a war against terror, and we will continue to fight that war against terror. ... The removal of Saddam Hussein is an integral part of winning the war against terror," he said.

Blair said that the United States and Britain went to war because the Sept. 11 incident has changed their perception of threat and security.

"It came about because we realized that there was a new source of threat and insecurity in our world that we had to counter. ... This threat is sometimes hard for people to understand because it's of such a different nature than the threats we have faced before. But September the 11th taught us it was real," the prime minister said.

He said that no responsible leader could ignore the potential threat posed by possible nexus between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

The prime minister, who was criticized at home for warping intelligence to make a case for war, insisted that the British intelligence about Iraq's seeking uranium from Niger is "genuine."

"The British intelligence that we have we believe is genuine. We stand by that intelligence," he said.

In his State of the Union address last January, President Bush accused Baghdad of seeking uranium from Niger to reconstitute its nuclear program.

The White House recently admitted that the allegation was based on British intelligence which was "incomplete and incorrect."

(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2003)