Powell criticises post-war troop levels
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-26 16:31

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has criticised the number of troops allocated for dealing with the aftermath of war in Iraq, saying more soldiers should have been on the ground from the onset.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph published on Saturday, Powell said the war had been "brilliantly fought" with a limited number of soldiers but the steps taken towards "nation-building" were insufficient.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has criticised the number of troops allocated for dealing with the aftermath of war in Iraq, saying more soldiers should have been on the ground from the onset. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph published on Saturday, Powell, pictured in a file photo, said the war had been "brilliantly fought" with a limited number of soldiers but the steps taken towards "nation-building" were insufficient. [Reuters]

There were "enough troops for war but not for peace, for establishing order", he told the paper, which said the comments demonstrated a rift between Powell and U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"My own preference would have been for more forces after the conflict."

The number of U.S. troops in Iraq was boosted to around 150,000 ahead of last month's election up from 123,000 a year ago. They are supported by around 26,000 foreign troops.

Following the 2003 invasion, Rumsfeld said U.S. military commanders believed there were enough troops to contain insurgents and establish peace. However, amid escalating violence and to boost security for January's Iraq elections, the troop levels were later increased.

Powell, who resigned from his post in November, said he had warned President George W. Bush in August 2002 about the problems of a post-war scenario.

"My caution was that you need to understand the difficult bit will come afterwards -- the military piece will be easy," he said he had told the president.

"This place (Iraq) will crack like a crystal goblet, and it'll be a problem to pick up the bits."

Powell said it was for this reason that Bush gave him the go ahead to embark on the ultimately unsuccessful bid to win a second United Nations resolution backing the war amid opposition from traditional U.S. allies such as France.

It was an attempt to heal the bitter differences the war had caused that prompted Bush to embark this week on a fence-mending trip to Europe. Powell said the United States needed to do more to improve its European relations.

"We've got a lot more work to do with European public opinion," he said, adding U.S. policies and the language used to express them had grated with many Europeans.

He also distanced himself from the now famous remarks uttered by Rumsfeld in June 2003 when he described France and Germany as "old Europe" compared to a "new Europe" of U.S. allies.

"I never used that phrase. It just wasn't a useful construct," he said.

"It was just something that Don used one day and became chiselled in time."

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