Spy Chief: Iraq May Spark Regional Battle

[Clara T]

Spy Chief: Iraq May Spark Regional Battle

Wednesday March 1, 2006 4:16 AM
By KATHERINE SHRADER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - A civil war in Iraq could lead to a broader conflict in the Middle East, pitting the region's rival Islamic sects against each other, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said in an unusually frank assessment Tuesday.``If chaos were to descend upon Iraq or the forces of democracy were to be defeated in that country ... this would have implications for the rest of the Middle East region and, indeed, the world,'' Negroponte said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats.

Negroponte served as U.S. ambassador to Baghdad before taking over as the nation's top intelligence official last April. Iraqis have faced a chain of attacks and reprisals since bombs destroyed the gold dome of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra last week. Hundreds, if not thousands, have died, including more than 65 who were killed Tuesday by suicide attackers, car bombers and insurgents firing mortars.

President Bush condemned the surge in violence and said Iraqis must make a choice between ``a free society or a society dictated ... by evil people who will kill innocents.'' Later, in an interview with ABC News' ``World News Tonight,'' he said he did not believe the escalation of civil unrest would lead to a general civil war.

Negroponte tried to focus on progress in Iraq, but he acknowledged a civil war would be a ``serious setback'' to the global war on terror.``The consequences for the people of Iraq would be catastrophic,'' he said. ``Clearly, it would seriously jeopardize the democratic political process on which they are presently embarked. And one can only begin to imagine what the political outcomes would be.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5654752,00.html

[Fovea]

1. Gee John, ya think?

Too bad you weren't on here a year before the invasion.
We *all* saw this coming.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. "forces of democracy were to be defeated in that country"

What is he talking about? A few Iraqi ex-patriots holed up in the green zone?

[BattyDem]

3. No shit, Sherlock!

DUers knew it ... so why didn't you? :eyes:

[SIU_Blue]

4. Wait a minute....

What happened to Iraq being "A beacon of liberty for the entire middle-east"? I thought they were going to set an example for other countries to follow?

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Captain Fuckin' Obvious!

If I ever have a country, this is who I want for my "National Intelligence Director"!

[unhappycamper]

5. Death Squad Negroponte speaks.

Everytime I see this evil person, an old A3 song pops into my head.

Mao Tse Tung said change must come
Change must come thru the barrel of a gun
Not thru talkin' and not through waitin'
And sittin' around just contemplatin' the facts
'Cos we know what they are
So let Mao Tse Tung be your guidin' star
Pick up a gun and learn how to fight
All thru the day and all thru the night
'Til come the day when the last fight's won
I want you to listen, son
'Cos Mao Tse Tung said change must come
Thru the barrel of a gun
I want you to listen, son
Change must come
Change must come thru the barrel of a gun

That appears to be the answer to everything for this cabal. :thumbsdown:

[Nikki Stone 1]

6. Well, this is a no-brainer

But this crowd has never looked before the leapt.