MADONNA has defended the anti-war video for her new single ‘AMERICAN LIFE’, after criticism was levelled at her for being “anti-BUSH.”

The star has posted a message on her website, www.madonna.com declaring: “I am not anti-Bush. I am not pro-Iraq. I am pro-peace.”

The Jonas Ackerlund-directed video depicts military outfits being modelled at a fashion show, with Madonna dressed as a superhero throwing hand grenades, cut with images of war victims. Her spokesperson said the fashion show escalated into a “mad frenzy, depicting the catastrophic repercussions and horror of war”.