Australia's Rudd attacks decision to join Iraq war

Canberra: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd accused his predecessor of abusing intelligence information to justify invading Iraq, saying that the Australians were misled.

Rudd criticised former prime minister John Howard's government for going to war in Iraq without accurate information.

"We must learn from Australia's experience in the lead-up to going to war with Iraq and not repeat the same mistakes in the future," Rudd told Parliament on Monday.

Howard sent 2,000 troops to support US and British forces in the 2003 war in Iraq.

"Of most concern to this government was the manner in which the decision to go to war was made: the abuse of intelligence information, a failure to disclose to the Australian people the qualified nature of that intelligence," Rudd said.

Before the invasion, Howard argued that Saddam Hussain had been toppled to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The weapons were not discovered and no definite links were established between Saddam and Al Qaida or other terror networks.