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Another British General slams US

September 02, 2007 19:06 IST

After the head of the British army during the invasion of Iraq Sir Mike Jackson, another English General has launched a scathing attack on the United States for its policy in the Gulf nation.

Major General Tim Cross, the senior-most British officer involved in the planning of post-war Iraq -- has claimed that he had raised serious concerns with former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before the invasion, the Sunday Mirror reported on Sunday.

"Right from the very beginning we were all very concerned about the lack of detail that had gone into the postwar plan -- and there is no doubt that Rumsfeld was at the heart of that process.

"I had lunch with Rumsfeld in Washington before the invasion in 2003 and raised concerns about the need to internationalise the reconstruction of Iraq and work closely with the United Nations.

"I also raised concerns over the numbers of troops available to maintain security and aid reconstruction. He didn't want to hear that message. The US had already convinced themselves that Iraq will emerge reasonably quickly as a stable democracy," General Cross was quoted as saying.

He claimed that he had suggested to Rumsfeld that things simply would not be easy as that. "But he ignored my comment. He dismissed it. There is no doubt with hindsight the US post-war plan was fatally flawed -- and many of us sensed that at the time."

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