U.S.envoy to Iraq says Bush's invasion opened door for sectarian violence

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US envoy to Iraq: 'We have opened the Pandora's box'

Julian Borger in Washington and Ewen MacAskill
Wednesday March 8, 2006
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1725996,00.html

The US ambassador to Baghdad conceded yesterday that the Iraq invasion had opened a Pandora's box of sectarian conflicts which could lead to a regional war and the rise of religious extremists who "would make Taliban Afghanistan look like child's play".

Mr Khalilzad told the Los Angeles Times Iraq had been pulled back from the brink of civil war after the February 22 bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra. However, another similar incident would leave Iraq "really vulnerable" to that happening, he said. "We have opened the Pandora's box and the question is, what is the way forward?" He added that the best approach was to build bridges between religious and ethnic communities.

Hours after Mr Khalilzad made his remarks, the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld accused Iran of dispatching elements of its Revolutionary Guard to stir trouble inside Iraq. Mr Rumsfeld said: "They are currently putting people into Iraq to do things that are harmful to the future of Iraq and we know it. And it is something that they, I think, will look back on as having been an error in judgment." Mr Khalilzad's intervention comes in a week when the two top US generals in Iraq, John Abizaid and George Casey, are in Washington talking to the Pentagon and the White House about how many troops they will need to maintain stability in Iraq. With his remarks, Mr Khalilzad may have been lobbying Washington to keep as many American soldiers there as possible. The Bush administration is anxious to reduce the US military presence for political and military reasons.

Mr Rumsfeld said sectarian violence had been exaggerated by the media. When asked how that squared with Mr Khalilzad's view, he replied: "Well, he's there. He's an expert. And he said what he said. I happen to have not read it, but I am not going to try to disagree with it."

full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1725996,00.html


Bush told ABC News: "I don't buy your premise that there's going to be a civil war."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022800759.html

[kenny blankenship]

1. Sounds like we've spent a ton of money

doing Osama Bin Ladin's work for him.

[MidwestTransplant]

2. Yeah but at least we got even with Saddam for 911

[Minnesota Libra]

3. No shit jack!!!! We could have told him that long ago........

.....but leave it to a rethug to take so long to GET IT. :grr: :puke:

[never cry wolf]

4. I wonder how long it will take for Mr Khalilzad

to be retired.