The US state department official who said that the US had shown "arrogance and stupidity" in Iraq has apologised for his comments.
Alberto Fernandez, who made the remarks during an interview with Arabic TV station al-Jazeera, said he had "seriously misspoken".
His comments did not represent the views of the state department, he said.
The BBC's Sarah Morris in Washington says it is unclear if Mr Fernandez was told by his seniors to apologise.
His [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6075934.stm|original remarks] have resonated with many Democrats and some Republicans who have been urging the administration to shift their course in the conflict, she says.
They came at a time of intense scrutiny of White House Iraq policy, with mid-term elections due next month.
From the New York Times
Overhead Costs Consume Budget for Iraq Reconstruction
By JAMES GLANZ
Published: October 24, 2006
A federal oversight agency said today that the cost of things like housing employees, processing paperwork and providing security has consumed as much as 55 percent of the entire budget for some reconstruction projects in Iraq, [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/world/middleeast/25rebuildcnd.html?
hp&ex=1161748800&en=35de97d42e602cb5&ei=5094&partner=homepage|vastly reducing the amount of money available] for actual construction.
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And the biggest culprit of them all: KBR...
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From our ABC
US aims for Iraq security handover within 18 months: military commander
The [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1772735.htm|American military commander] in Iraq, General George Casey, says Iraq's own armed forces should be able to take over security responsibility within the next 12 to 18 months.
Speaking at a media conference in Baghdad, General Casey also accused Iran and Syria of providing support to armed groups in Iraq.
"Both Iran and Syria continue to be decidedly unhelpful by continuing to provide support" to the insurgents, he said.
He warned Damascus and Tehran against meddling in Iraq.
"We have been focusing on helping build Iraqi security forces that can maintain domestic order and deny Iraq as a safe haven for terror," he said.
"We are about 75 per cent of the way through a three-step process in building those forces and it's going to take another 12-18 months or so 'til I believe the Iraqi security forces are completely capable of taking over responsibility for their own security."
The American general said the Iraqi armed forces had suffered 300 "martyrs" in clashes with insurgents during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that ended this week.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Iraq says his country "must succeed".
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Gus: It sounds presently optimistic enough as if to resonate with the seemingly back-pedalling words of the Lying President. But in fact below the surface of rhetoric here, the good old General Casey is omitting to mention that the US troops are entrenching in Iraq for another 25 years minimum, to control the flow of oil — using a minimum of 40,000 US troops if the situation is not too bad, and 150,000 troops if nothing improves despite (or with the help of) the Iraqi army. The "Mission Accomplished" President has created a monster from a fabric of lies and spreads more lies to make us swallow more crap. Please do not believe him or even trust him to "come good"... More disasters are around the corner if Bush is allowed to stay. He should be impeached anyway.
The "trooth" escaped but was retracted behind bars
US official retracts Iraq remarks
The US state department official who said that the US had shown "arrogance and stupidity" in Iraq has apologised for his comments.
Alberto Fernandez, who made the remarks during an interview with Arabic TV station al-Jazeera, said he had "seriously misspoken".
His comments did not represent the views of the state department, he said.
The BBC's Sarah Morris in Washington says it is unclear if Mr Fernandez was told by his seniors to apologise.
His [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6075934.stm|original remarks] have resonated with many Democrats and some Republicans who have been urging the administration to shift their course in the conflict, she says.
They came at a time of intense scrutiny of White House Iraq policy, with mid-term elections due next month.
Building overhead empires
Overhead Costs Consume Budget for Iraq Reconstruction
By JAMES GLANZ
Published: October 24, 2006
A federal oversight agency said today that the cost of things like housing employees, processing paperwork and providing security has consumed as much as 55 percent of the entire budget for some reconstruction projects in Iraq, [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/world/middleeast/25rebuildcnd.html? hp&ex=1161748800&en=35de97d42e602cb5&ei=5094&partner=homepage|vastly reducing the amount of money available] for actual construction.
---------------------
And the biggest culprit of them all: KBR...
----------------------
From our ABC
US aims for Iraq security handover within 18 months: military commander The [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1772735.htm|American military commander] in Iraq, General George Casey, says Iraq's own armed forces should be able to take over security responsibility within the next 12 to 18 months.
Speaking at a media conference in Baghdad, General Casey also accused Iran and Syria of providing support to armed groups in Iraq.
"Both Iran and Syria continue to be decidedly unhelpful by continuing to provide support" to the insurgents, he said.
He warned Damascus and Tehran against meddling in Iraq.
"We have been focusing on helping build Iraqi security forces that can maintain domestic order and deny Iraq as a safe haven for terror," he said.
"We are about 75 per cent of the way through a three-step process in building those forces and it's going to take another 12-18 months or so 'til I believe the Iraqi security forces are completely capable of taking over responsibility for their own security."
The American general said the Iraqi armed forces had suffered 300 "martyrs" in clashes with insurgents during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that ended this week.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Iraq says his country "must succeed".
------------------------
Gus: It sounds presently optimistic enough as if to resonate with the seemingly back-pedalling words of the Lying President. But in fact below the surface of rhetoric here, the good old General Casey is omitting to mention that the US troops are entrenching in Iraq for another 25 years minimum, to control the flow of oil — using a minimum of 40,000 US troops if the situation is not too bad, and 150,000 troops if nothing improves despite (or with the help of) the Iraqi army. The "Mission Accomplished" President has created a monster from a fabric of lies and spreads more lies to make us swallow more crap. Please do not believe him or even trust him to "come good"... More disasters are around the corner if Bush is allowed to stay. He should be impeached anyway.