ARAB-US RELATIONS - Dec 14 - Bush Says He Fought War On 'Wrong' Intelligence.

Pres Bush admits he led the US into the war in Iraq on the basis of "wrong" intelligence, But Bush insists on the eve of Dec 15 Iraqi elections that the conflict is justified by the goal of creating a "free and democratic" country after the fall of Pres Saddam Hussein. In a rare admission of a mistake, Bush said: It is true that much of the [pre-war] intelligence turned out to be wrong. As Pres I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq". But in the last of four speeches before Dec 15 election, Bush strongly defended the Iraq war. "We are in Iraq today because our goal has always been more than the removal of a brutal dictator - it is to leave a free and democratic Iraq in its place". Bush described today's poll as a "watershed moment in the story of freedom", saying the vote would create "the only constitutional democracy in the Arab world". The speeches have outlined the administration's military, economic and political strategy for Iraq. In a letter to Bush, 40 Democratic senators called for a "detailed plan" and called 2006 a "year of transition in Iraq". The White House separately gave the State Sec Condoleezza Rice, authority to take the lead in planning and reconstruction efforts in conflict areas such as Iraq, in a reflection of the rise of the State Department under her leadership. A Presidential directive issued by Bush reinforces the political power of the office of reconstruction at the State Department, with a mission to anticipate state failures and prevent conflict. It also reflects the broader shift in Iraq to civilian rather than military solutions.