(Former Israel PM Ariel) Sharon advised Bush: You need Iraq exit plan

http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=6420

Sharon advised Bush: You need Iraq exit plan

Ariel Sharon advised President Bush to have an exit strategy before the invasion of Iraq, a report said.

The former Israeli prime minister, who has been in a coma for a year, met with Bush in early 2003, prior to the U.S. invasion. According to a report in the Forward this week, Sharon said he believed, as Bush did, that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the region. However, he warned Bush to have an exit strategy and not to press for democratization, and asked him to be mindful that once the United States ended its venture in the region and withdrew its troops, Israel would be left to deal with the consequences.

Bush has been strongly criticized for lacking an exit strategy; at the time, he and his top advisers expressed confidence that a democracy would quickly and peacefully replace Saddam’s regime. The Forward report cites Daniel Ayalon, who has just completed a term as ambassador to Washington, and another unnamed source present at the meeting. Ayalon reports Sharon was adamant that Israeli officials refrain from endorsing or opposing the war.