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Rumsfeld ignored Iraq warnings
02/09/2007 20:39 - (SA)
London - The British backlash over the United States's handling of post-invasion Iraq grew on Sunday as another top military commander blasted what he called Washington's "fatally flawed" policy.
Major General Tim Cross, the top British officer involved in planning post-war Iraq, said he had raised serious concerns with then US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the possibility of the country descending into chaos.
But Rumsfeld "ignored" or "dismissed" his warnings, the general told the Sunday Mirror newspaper.
On Saturday, the head of the British Army during the 2003 invasion launched a fierce attack on the United States over its handling of troubled Iraq since.
General Sir Mike Jackson branded US post-invasion policy "intellectually bankrupt" and said Rumsfeld was "one of the most responsible for the current situation in Iraq".
His comments were criticised by John Bolton, the US's former ambassador to the United Nations, who told BBC radio on Saturday he had "read into a version of history that simply is not supported by the evidence".
The comments from both top officers came as the British government has been trying to soothe reported tensions with the United States over Iraq by insisting it will not cut and run from the southern province of Basra.
General Jack Keane, a former vice-chief of staff of the US Army, said last month there was "frustration" in Washington at the deteriorating security situation in the British-run area - triggering an angry reaction from some quarters in the British military.
The Pentagon announced last week that it was ready to intervene in southern Iraq to quell any unrest in Basra.
The Sunday Times newspaper, citing unnamed government department officials, said Britain was preparing to hand over control of Basra to the Iraqi army as early as next month.
About 5 500 British troops are in the south training Iraqi security forces, a figure that is set to drop to 5 000 by the end of the year.
In 2003, Cross, who is now retired, was the deputy head of the coalition's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance.
"Right from the very beginning we were all very concerned about the lack of detail that had gone into the post-war plan -
and there is no doubt that Rumsfeld was at the heart of that process," the 56-year-old said.
"I had lunch with Rumsfeld in Washington before the invasion in 2003 and raised concerns about the need to internationalise the reconstruction of Iraq and work closely with the United Nations.
"I also raised concerns over the numbers of troops available to maintain security and aid reconstruction.
"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 said that he was not alone in suggesting to Rumsfeld that life in Iraq post-invasion would not be as easy as he thought.
"But he ignored my comment. He dismissed it," he added.
- AFP
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