Some FWers will be interested in the growing Democratic
criticism of the incompetence of the American occupying forces in Iraq.
>From today's FT:
<<<<
LIEBERMAN ATTACKS WAY IRAQ IS HANDLED AFTER THE WAR
By Deborah McGregor in Washington
Joseph Lieberman, one of the Senate's strongest Democratic supporters of
the war in Iraq, yesterday blasted the Bush administration for
mishandling postwar reconstruction.
Speaking to newspaper editors in Seattle, Mr Lieberman, a presidential
contender, said the US was "squandering an opportunity to tell the
world that we're liberators and not occupiers". He joins a growing
chorus of Democratic critics questioning the administration's conduct of
the postwar period in Iraq, which has been marred by insecure
peace.
Mr Lieberman had long championed a tough line against Saddam Hussein, the
former Iraqi dictator. The Connecticut senator was one of the most
passionate supporters of George W. Bush, president, among Democrats who
last year voted to back the potential use of military force against
Iraq.
His strong condemnation underscored the distance many congressional
Democrats, who supported that resolution, now wish to put between
themselves and the president.
Last week, several senators - including Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on
the Senate foreign relations committee - vented their frustration in a
harsh grilling of Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defence secretary.
Like Mr Lieberman, Mr Biden was a staunch defender of the hard line on
Iraq, but has become a vocal critic, charging that the administration has
not been forthcoming about the full costs or long-term US presence
required to secure Iraq's future. Mr Biden said Mr Bush must "start
leveling" with the American public about the long-term costs of the
war. "When is the president going to tell the American people that
we're likely to be in the country of Iraq for three, four, five, six,
eight, 10 years, with thousands of forces and billions of
dollars?"
Pentagon officials have responded that the size of the force needed in
future years is impossible to predict because the situation changes
constantly.
Mr Wolfowitz has defended the postwar effort, saying US plans cannot be
judged "against a standard of unachievable
perfection".
Perhaps more worrying for the White House, several Republican senators
have begun noting the slow pace of setting up an Iraqi
government.
* According to an opinion poll, many Americans appear to think weapons of
mass destruction have already been found in Iraq, or misunderstood the
war's main stated objective, writes Mark Turner at the UN in New
York.
The Program on International Policy Attitudes found that 41 per cent
either believed that the US had found WMDs or were unsure. While six in
10 Americans believed those weapons were the main reason for the
invasion, 19 per cent thought it was Iraq's ties to al-Qaeda. Twenty per
cent said the most important reason was "the fact that Saddam
Hussein was an oppressive dictator".
www.pipa.org
>>>>
Financial Times; May 29, 2003
Keith Hudson, 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath, England
