Powell urged more troops for Iraq in meeting with Bush and Blair: report

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2004/December/theworld_December643.xml§ion=theworld

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Colin Powell recommended sending more troops to Iraq during a secret meeting last month between US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, The Washington Post said on Friday.

The November 12 meeting between the two leaders, one of several by videoconference after the US November 2 presidential election, was so secret that its transcripts were destroyed after other senior officials read them, people familiar with the official records of the meeting told the daily.

Accounts of the outgoing secretary of state’s exact advice given at the meeting differ slightly and it was unclear if his input prompted a December 1 announcement that US troop levels in Iraq were to increase by 12,000 to 150,000 ahead of the January 30 elections there.

One US official said Powell flatly stated: “We don’t have enough troops. We don’t control the terrain.” A State Department official, instead, said Powell was less pointed and spoke not only of the US military presence but also of the British and Iraqi forces there.

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[candy331]

1. Bah Humbug, the on his way out liar has spoken.

[NNN0LHI]

2. It was the same day he turned in his resignation according to CNN

Wonder what came first? The suggestion of more troops, or the resignation?

Don

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Probably the resignation, which was expected anyway...

...once he had the proverbial foot out the door, he decided to speak freely.:crazy:

[robbedvoter]

5. I thought he was hoping it wouldn't be accepted - said he would serve

until a replacement was found . Condi showed up before the knick-knacks stopped gathering dust on his desk...

[robbedvoter]

3. W: "No one ever asked me for more troops...all they need to do is ask -

I listen to my generals"
And, no, that doesn't make Powell any less of a tool - but I am always glad when he makes W look bad/worse

[NashVegas]

6. duplicate

locking - discuss here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1096125