Reuters: US intelligence report casts doubt on Iraq strategy [View All]

US intelligence report casts doubt on Iraq strategy
23 Jan 2007 22:41:59 GMT
Source: Reuters

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The Bush administration came under fire on Tuesday
for its failure to produce a key intelligence report that casts doubt on whether
the Iraqi government is capable of taking steps to ensure the success of President
George W. Bush's strategy.

The classified document, known as a national intelligence estimate, would represent
the 16-agency espionage community's consensus views on the stability of Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government and prospects for controlling sectarian violence
in Iraq.

U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte's office was ordered by Congress to produce
the document in late September, but is not expected to do so until after the Senate
takes up two measures opposing Bush's plan to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq
to try to quell the violence.

"Here we are with the president's program laid down, about to go into a considerable
debate which I think is important for the nation, and yet this document is continued
to be worked on," Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia said at a hearing of the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

-snip-