US President George W. Bush on August 6 defended last weekend's decision to raise the terror alert at major financial institutions in New York, Washington and New Jersey, saying it is the government's obligation to inform the public about terror threats.

Addressing a convention of minority journalists in Washington, Bush said: "When we find out intelligence that is real, that threatens people, I believe we have an obligation as government to share that with people."

"Imaging what would happen if we didn't share that information with the people in those buildings and something were to happen, then what would you write?" Bush said, adding "This is a dangerous time. I wish it wasn't this way. Now, I wish I wasn't the war president. Who in the heck

wants to be a war president?"

In reaction to the hiked terror alert, some critics said much of the intelligence information the government used to justify the move was at least three years old. Democrats accused Bush of playing election-year politics by raising the alert to highlight his strong point in the tight campaign: Anti-terrorism.

The sharpest attack came from former White House hopeful Howard Dean, who said that "I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism."

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his team, however, have been cautious about making any comments on the issue so far.

Source: Xinhua