Bremer: We made ​​strategic mistakes in Iraq, and Iran exploited the rapid withdrawal to expand its

Bremer: We made ​​strategic mistakes in Iraq, and Iran exploited the rapid withdrawal to expand its influence

03/20/2013 (00:01 pm)

Ten years after the Iraq war, says Paul Bremer - who ruled Iraq for four months after that invaded the Allied forces - in an interview at his home in Maryland "I have made mistakes strategy large in Iraq, but I still believe that Iraqis today are better off than before ".

Bremer recalls Iraq sliding into chaos and fighting that took place in order to restore order, and adds that the strategic military errors may seriously hampered efforts to contain the armed action in Iraq, and cost the Iraqis and the coalition a lot of lives. And speaks Bremer what called his battle own against insolence and overtaking on his own, saying that "difficulties complex called generals America are fighting against rebels through a policy of non-effective based on the military doctrine wrong and a small number of troops, error strategic large was possible remedied at the time" .

And continue Bremer by saying that he "urged President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on double the number of troops in Iraq, however, it took another four years before implementation through" sustain the momentum ", then was dealing properly with the uprisings and civil conflicts in all parts of Iraq ".

Attention Bremer, former U.S. in Iraq by saying, "I did not expect the outbreak of such violence after our arrival to Iraq. You think we have enough of the pieces on the ground to protect the citizens. Was on American leadership to take the advice of Research Center, who advised her to publish 400 thousand fighters instead from 180 thousand. lack of troops has had a dual effect; insurgents, along with a lot of Iraqis have concluded that we are not ready to provide security, and are losing confidence in the success of the occupation. we do not reach the correct strategy only when Gen. Petraeus, the new military doctrine in 2007. "

For critics of Bremer, it bears a large part of the responsibility for Iraq's slide into chaos, where he immediately began to take action Critics claim it destabilized the security situation, which was essentially fragile. Valawamr first issued by the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority banned Baath Party members from public office and disbanded the Iraqi army.

During the month was the bloodiest armed actions in the modern era on its way to emerge, as there have been many accusations of financial mismanagement. In 2005, a report of the U.S. Department of the disappearance of nearly $ 9 billion was earmarked for reconstruction. With this there is nothing to suggest that Mr. Bremer is personally responsible.

Today, after ten years on the invasion, Bremer strongly defends the decisions. Says, "We have surveyed opinion, where the vote on the de-Baathification 95%., But the mistake is that I turned it comes to a small group of Iraqi politicians who then expand it to include large numbers. Believe that that right us much harm because he gave the impression that we We were unprepared for the implementation of the wholesale uprooting of Baathists from society as a whole, it is clear that this was not our intention. "

He also stressed that the decision to disband the army has been approved by the British and U.S. prior to the command famous so, and acknowledges Bremer shortcomings other - especially the failure of his regime to make the country continues on its way again, he says, "so Tdhr insurgency you defeat rebels At the same time improving the life also make it clear and safe and adopted, and what we did not do in the first phase is to ensure the security of the population, especially in the big cities. "

Bremer believes that the failure of U.S. and British policy in Iraq, to ​​make way for Iran to expand its influence; After seeing the Iranians that the United States was in a state of chaos, they felt that they could resume their nuclear program without serious repercussions. He adds that the United States and Britain withdrew all their troops by leaps and bounds, creating new risks.

In a semi-outdoor attack on the doctrine of the new U.S. withdrawal espoused by President Obama, Bremer said, "That was a big mistake, and we had to leave some troops in Iraq, according to the recommendations of the American military commanders."

For Bremer, he felt deep satisfaction at the end of his reign in Iraq, "When I left, I felt comfortable to my departure from Iraq. And I cadre who has worked with me call on June 28, 2004" on our liberation. "I said to Iraq's new leaders" to you your republic, you must now make them works well. "

Since then, Bremer began to devote his life to helping charitable sports associations;, where he organized a bike trip for a distance of four thousand miles across America, accompanied by 16 soldiers already wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. May be some of them paralyzed because of the strategic military criticizes, but it feels that remove Saddam and install a new system was better for Iraq than leaving the dictator in power, pointing out that the "per capita income now stands at six times what was in the reign of Saddam. Also less violence It was - even though it is high by Western standards. and I still think that the conditions of Iraqis much better than it was. "

The Independent

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]