|
Bill Clinton calls Iraq war 'big mistake'
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-17 09:02
Former US President Clinton told Arab students Wednesday the United States
made a "big mistake" when it invaded Iraq, stoking the partisan debate back home
over the war.
Clinton cited the lack of planning for what would happen after Saddam Hussein
was overthrown.
"Saddam is gone. It's a good thing, but I don't agree with what was done,"
Clinton told students at a forum at the American University of Dubai.
"It was a big mistake. The American government made several errors ... one of
which is how easy it would be to get rid of Saddam and how hard it would be to
unite the country."
Clinton's remarks came when he was taking questions about the U.S. invasion,
which began in 2003. His response drew cheers and a standing ovation at the end
of the hour-long session.
Clinton said the United States had done some good things in Iraq: the removal
of Saddam, the ratification of a new constitution and the holding of
parliamentary elections.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton
acknowledges the students of the American University Dubai, during his
visit to mark the 10 anniversary celebration of AUD, in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005. [AP] | "The
mistake that they made is that when they kicked out Saddam, they decided to
dismantle the whole authority structure of Iraq. ... We never sent enough troops
and didn't have enough troops to control or seal the borders," Clinton said.
As the borders were unsealed, "the terrorists came in," he said.
Clinton said it would have been better if the United States had left Iraq's
"fundamental military and social and police structure intact."
Democrats are accusing President Bush of having misled the American public
about the urgency of the Iraqi threat before his order to invade, and Bush on
Monday threw back at Democratic critics the worries they once expressed about
Saddam.
"They spoke the truth then and they're speaking politics now," Bush charged.
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld continued Bush's attack,
citing the words of Clinton and others from his administration as saying Saddam
was a security threat to the United States and its allies.
At a Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld noted the Iraq Liberation Act that
Congress passed in 1998 had said it should be U.S. government policy to support
Saddam's removal from power. He noted that Clinton signed the act and ordered
four days of bombing in December 1998.
Recent opinion polls show Bush as having the lowest approval rating of his
presidency. In AP-Ipsos polling, a majority of Americans say Bush is not honest
and they disapprove of his handling of foreign policy and the war on
terrorism.
|
