July 26 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire philanthropist and investor George Soros, who has come out in favor of an open society in Eastern Europe and the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes in the U.S., is now taking on the Bush administration.

Full-page advertisements with the headline, ``When the Nation Goes to War, the People Deserve the Truth,'' will appear tomorrow in the New York Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Houston Chronicle.

Soros and philanthropists Lewis and Dorothy Cullman ask readers to contact their Congressional representatives to ``get the truth,'' about the ``exaggerated and false intelligence'' the administration used to support its case for invading Iraq.

``Both George Soros and the Cullmans have been deeply concerned about the deception used to justify the war in Iraq,'' said Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Soros in New York. ``They believe that their fellow citizens should also be concerned and they took out these ads to help move them to action.''

Soros has been vocal in his opposition to Bush's foreign policy. In a speech he gave in March in Washington, he said ``the Bush administration is leading the United States and the world in the wrong direction.''

Possible Appointment

The advertisement lists 12 statements that turned out to be untrue, including the fact that Saddam Hussein sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

President George W. Bush is considering an overhaul of his postwar administration of Iraq, including the possibility of asking former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III to help, the Washington Post said, citing unnamed administration officials.

Baker may be asked to seek funds from other countries or help restructure Iraq's debt, the newspaper said. No final decision has been made, the Post said.

Bush's approval rating is falling as more Americans grow concerned about rising casualties among U.S. troops in Iraq, according to surveys by Newsweek magazine and the Washington Post.

Last Updated: July 26, 2003 05:40 EDT