Bush vows to continue domestic surveillance

President &to=http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/98/386/14349_Bush.html' target=_blank>George W. Bush, brushing aside criticism in Congress, said Monday he approved domestic spying on suspected terrorists without court orders because it was "a necessary part of my job to protect" Americans from attack.

At a White House news conference, Bush also acknowledged that a prewar failure of American intelligence _ claiming that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction _ has complicated the United States' ability to confront other potential emerging threats such as Iran.

"Where it is going to be most difficult to make the case is in the public arena," Bush said. "People will say, if we're trying to make the case on Iran, `Well, if the intelligence failed in Iraq, therefore, how can we trust the intelligence on Iran?"'