US Democrats pressed for deeper investigation of pre-war US intelligence efforts after top security officials admitted President George W Bush was wrong when he said Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa.
As weeks have passed with the American search turning up no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, criticism has been building concerning assertions Mr Bush's administration made as justification for the war.
President Bush told a joint session of the US Congress in January that the British government had learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa.
"This is a very important admission," said Senate Democratic Leader Mr Tom Daschle. "It's a recognition that we were provided faulty information. And I think it's all the more reason why a full investigation of all of the facts surrounding this situation be undertaken."
Mr Michael Anton, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said in a statement: "We now know that documents alleging a transaction between Iraq and Niger had been forged."
Mr Anton also said that when Mr Bush made the speech in January, there was other intelligence indicating that Iraq had tried to acquire uranium from several countries in Africa. This other information, however, was not detailed or specific enough to prove such a contention, he said.
"Because of this lack of specificity, this reporting alone did not rise to the level of inclusion in a presidential speech," Mr Anton said. "That said, the issue of Iraq's attempts to acquire uranium from abroad was not an element underpinning the judgment reached by most intelligence agencies that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons programme."
On June 8th, National Security Adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice said on NBC television that Mr Bush was wrong when he said the British government had learned that Iraq had sought uranium from Africa to build weapons.
"No one in our circles knew that there were doubts and suspicions that this might be a forgery," she said. "Of course, it was information that was mistaken."
The latest statement followed assertions by an envoy sent to Africa to investigate allegations about Iraq's nuclear weapons programme. The envoy, Joseph Wilson, said Sunday that the Bush administration manipulated his findings, possibly to strengthen the rationale for war.
Several investigations are under way in Congress, but Democrats said much more was needed.
"Did the Bush administration knowingly deceive us and manufacture intelligence in order to build public support for the invasion of Iraq?" Congresswoman Janice Schakowsky asked. "Did Iraq really pose an imminent threat to our nation?"
AP