? ?
WORLD / Europe
British general slams US policy in?Iraq
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-09-03 09:34
LONDON -- US plans for handling Iraq after 2003 were "fatally flawed," a
retired British general said, adding that the US administration had
refused to listen to British concerns about postwar planning.
British armoured vehicles roll down a road during patrol after a roadside
bomb attack that targeted a British patrol in Basra, 550 km (342 miles)
south of Baghdad, June 22, 2007. [Reuters]
Major General Tim Cross said he had talked to former US?Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld before the?war about the need to have international
support and enough troops on the ground to reconstruct Iraq.
"He didn't want to hear that message. The US had already convinced
themselves that Iraq would emerge reasonably quickly as a stable
democracy," Cross told the Sunday Mirror.
"Anybody who tried to tell them anything that challenged that idea --
they simply shut it out," Cross, the most senior British officer involved
in planning post-war Iraq, added.
His comments echoed those of General Mike Jackson, head of the British
army during the invasion, who was quoted by The Daily Telegraph on
Saturday as describing Rumsfeld's approach as "intellectually bankrupt."
The unusually outspoken comments by former top military men follow weeks
of commentary, mainly in the US press, suggesting British forces have
failed in southern Iraq and are set to flee.
Defense analyst Charles Heyman said the criticism was surfacing" because
everybody realizes this is now a failed policy and they are all casting
around for scapegoats."
"Why didn't someone resign at the time and say this is foolish and
foolhardy?" he said.
He said the recriminations were not helpful to future military and
diplomatic relations between Washington and London, which have
traditionally boasted of a "special relationship."
PULLOUT FROM BASRA
British troops are expected to pull out of their last base in Basra city
in the next few days to concentrate their presence in an airbase outside
the city.
This is part of a plan to hand over control of the province to Iraqi
security forces by the end of 2007 and pave the way for an eventual
pullout of all British forces.
But the departure of Prime Minister Tony Blair in June to be succeeded by
Gordon Brown has raised speculation that Britain could speed up the
withdrawal of British forces.
Heyman said it would be very difficult for the British to withdraw
entirely from the airbase as they were needed to protect supply routes
and, if necessary, the oil fields.
He said he expected quite large numbers of British troops still to be
there six months from now.
William Hague, foreign affairs spokesman for Britain's opposition
Conservatives, said on Sunday the generals' concerns strengthened the
case for Britain to hold a full-scale inquiry into the origins and
conduct of the Iraq war.
The British government has successfully resisted previous opposition
calls for an inquiry while British troops are operating in Iraq though it
has not ruled one out in the future.
Hague, whose Conservatives supported the Iraq war, said "very crucial
mistakes have been made."
Planners "clearly underestimated ... the number of troops that would be
needed for an effective occupation force in Iraq (and) they clearly made
a mistake in the immediate disbandment of the Iraqi army," he told Sky
News.
Rumsfeld resigned last year after becoming a focal point for criticism of
the US administration's handling of the unpopular Iraq war.
Top World News ?
* Hurricane Felix seen becoming top-ranked storm
* Pentagon 'three-day blitz' plan for Iran
* Social security scandal angers Japanese
* US Sen. Craig resigns over sex sting
* Korean hostages tell of hidden diaries and fear
Today's Top News ?
* N.Korea agrees to declare nuclear programs
* China's major step in military opening
* US, China tackle food safety issues
* British troops leave Basra base in Iraq
* Rural food safety to be scrutinized
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Learn Mandarin online, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment