The Hindu : International : Bush ignored warning of chaos

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 30, 2004

International

International

Bush ignored warning of chaos

By Suzanne Goldenberg

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 29. The Bush administration disregarded intelligence reports two months before the invasion of Iraq which warned a war could unleash militancy and rising anti-U.S. sentiment in West Asia, it emerged yesterday.

The warning, delivered in two classified reports to the White House in January 2003, was prepared by the National Intelligence Council, the same advisory board that warned the Bush administration last month that the violence in Iraq could descend into a full-scale civil war.

That forecast radically departs from the President, George W. Bush's upbeat assertions that the situation is improving in Iraq, and he initially dismissed the assessment as a ``guess''.

Intelligence dismissed

The White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, suggested the assessment was the work of ``handwringers''. The revelation yesterday that the White House was similarly cavalier about pre-war warnings could hurt Mr Bush in the run-up to the presidential debate, which is focused on foreign policy.

The Democratic challenger, John Kerry, has led a dogged effort to shift the election agenda from the ``war on terror'' to the chaos in Iraq, and yesterday's report at last provides him with a new opening.

One of the pre-war assessments said it would take years of tumult before democracy was established in Iraq, and the country could revert to its tradition of authoritarian rule. According to the New York Times, it also warned that the new authorities in Iraq could face a guerrilla war waged by holdovers from Saddam Hussein's regime, and other militant groups.

Meanwhile, Washington could see a rise in anti-American sentiment across West Asia, as well as support for some terrorist acts.

The existence of the pre-war National Intelligence Council estimate was reported by the conservative columnist, Robert Novak, on Monday, as well as in yesterday's New York Times.

The manner in which the assessment came to light has attracted as much attention as its contents. —

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section