June 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration said it acted on the best available information when it invaded Iraq in 2003, rejecting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's charge of ``abuse'' of pre-war intelligence.

``We acted on the intelligence we had and the world had,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters in Washington yesterday, responding to a question on Rudd's comments.

Rudd withdrew Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq yesterday and told Parliament the arguments used to justify the invasion have proved to be wrong. Of particular concern was the ``abuse of intelligence information'' in the decision to go to war, he said.

Rudd defeated John Howard in last November's election, partly on a campaign pledge to withdraw Australian forces from Iraq. Australia, under Howard, was an original member of President George W. Bush's ``coalition of the willing'' that invaded Iraq to get rid of weapons of mass destruction, none of which were found.

Rudd, in his speech to Parliament, listed and dismissed arguments used to justify the invasion.

``Has any evidence of a link between weapons of mass destruction and the former Iraqi regime and terrorists been found? No. Have the actions of rogue states like Iran been moderated? No,'' he said.

He also dismissed Howard's assertion that Australia's alliance with the U.S. required it to join the invasion. The government doesn't believe the treaty ``mandates compliance with every element'' of U.S. foreign policy, Rudd said, while reaffirming the country's commitment to the alliance.

Howard defended his decision to send troops to Iraq.

It was ``the right thing to have done,'' he told the Sydney Morning Herald in an interview published yesterday, while adding the cost was ``much greater than anyone would have liked.''

Australian commandos were among the first troops to cross into Iraq when the invasion began. The role of Australia's main combat force was limited after that and the country suffered no deaths in combat.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 2, 2008 21:40 EDT