Ex-UK defense chief: US declared Iraq win too soon

[discocrisco01]

Source: Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A former British military chief says the United States decided that it had won the war in Iraq too soon.

Former deputy chief of defense staff Lt. Gen. Anthony Pigott said Friday that the U.S. was too triumphant when Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad was pulled down in April 2003.

U.S. Marines tore down the statue of the former Iraqi president in 2003 in what became one of the iconic images of the U.S.-led invasion.

Pigott said that "nobody had won anything when the statue came down."

Pigott was giving evidence at an inquiry into the period leading up to and after the Iraq war. The war was deeply unpopular in Britain, left 179 British soldiers dead and triggered huge protests.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8841598

[Kali]

1. no shit?

wow, I hadn't noticed.

[sabra]

2. Retired UK military chief says United States declared victory in Iraq too soon

Source: CAP

LONDON — A former British military chief said Friday the United States decided it had won the war in Iraq too soon.

Lt. Gen. Anthony Pigott, a former deputy chief of the defence staff, said the U.S. was too triumphant in the immediate aftermath of the invasion.

"Nobody had won anything when the statue came down," Pigott said, referring to the incident when U.S. Marines tore down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in 2003 in what became one of the iconic images of the U.S.-led invasion.

...

The inquiry, which is in its second week, is not set up to apportion blame or hold anyone liable for the conflict, but it does have the potential to embarrass officials in the U.S. and Britain who argued - wrongly - that the war was justified because Saddam was developing weapons of mass destruction and building close links with al-Qaida.

Pigott also told the inquiry Britain wanted to play a major role in Iraq to gain influence with the U.S.

"You buy that on your contribution and your willingness to put - not just boots on the ground - people in danger," he said. "They know you are a serious player."

The inquiry is expected to publish its findings late next year.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iQ6lRrdASmMjBA8ulbegSvhTAoXw

[Hissyspit]

3. You think?

[damntexdem]

4. The mistake was not declaring victory too soon -- it was in not leaving.

Better timing for a withdrawal would have been the day before the invasion.

[ghurley]

5. True, but not really news. I am looking forward to this full report. n/t

[Chemical Bill]

6. Let's give it another decade or two....

:sarcasm:

[Arctic Dave]

7. No, the US declared bloodlust too soon.

We will never have victory in Iraq no matter how you want to spin it. The Iraq invasion and occupation is a war crime. Every dead Iraqi, a murder.

[truebrit71]

8. Ya think?

:eyes: