Bush still trusts CIA after Iraq claim

WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- President Bush is under pressure again to explain his prewar claim that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa.

Bush said he still trusts his national security advisers and the information they provide.

"I think the intelligence I get is darn good intelligence," Bush said at the White House.

Sen. Charles Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, a leading foreign policy player, demanded a thorough investigation and declared: "There's a cloud hanging over this administration."

In his January State of the Union speech, Bush said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Just two months later, however, the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed that the paperwork on which the claim was based was a forgery.

The matter is almost sure to continue at least through Thursday when Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain visits Bush and addresses a joint session of Congress, the Boston Globe reported.