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US 'arrogant and stupid' in Iraq US 'arrogant and stupid' in Iraq
(about 2 hours later)
A senior US state department official has said that the US has shown "arrogance and stupidity" in Iraq.A senior US state department official has said that the US has shown "arrogance and stupidity" in Iraq.
Alberto Fernandez told al-Jazeera TV the US was now willing to talk to any insurgent group apart from al-Qaeda in Iraq, to reduce sectarian bloodshed. Alberto Fernandez's made the remarks during an interview with Arabic television station al-Jazeera.
His remarks came after President George W Bush discussed changing tactics with top military commanders. The state department says Mr Fernandez was quoted incorrectly - but BBC Arabic language experts say Mr Fernandez did indeed use the words.
A report that officials are drawing up a timetable for Iraq's government to improve security has been denied. It comes after President George W Bush discussed changing tactics with top US commanders to try to combat the unrest.
The New York Times reported that the Bush administration was preparing a timetable for the government to meet objectives - including disarming sectarian militias - that would stabilise the country and allow US troops to take a reduced role.
I think there is great room for strong criticism, because without doubt, there was arrogance and stupidity by the United States in Iraq Alberto Fernandez
The plan is "to get the Iraqis to step up to the plate", the newspaper cited a senior administration official as saying. "We can't be there for ever," the official added.
But White House spokeswoman Nicole Guillemard denied the report. "The story is not accurate, but we are constantly developing new tactics to achieve our goal," she said.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells, in an interview with the BBC, has suggested that the Iraqi security forces could take over much of the work of US-led forces within a year.
'Regional disaster'
Mr Fernandez, an Arabic speaker who is director of public diplomacy in the state department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told Qatar-based al-Jazeera that the world was "witnessing failure in Iraq".Mr Fernandez, an Arabic speaker who is director of public diplomacy in the state department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told Qatar-based al-Jazeera that the world was "witnessing failure in Iraq".
"That's not the failure of the United States alone, but it is a disaster for the region," he said."That's not the failure of the United States alone, but it is a disaster for the region," he said.
I think there is great room for strong criticism, because without doubt, there was arrogance and stupidity by the United States in Iraq Alberto Fernandez
"I think there is great room for strong criticism, because without doubt, there was arrogance and stupidity by the United States in Iraq.""I think there is great room for strong criticism, because without doubt, there was arrogance and stupidity by the United States in Iraq."
On talks with insurgent groups, he said: "We are open to dialogue because we all know that, at the end of the day, the solution to the hell and the killings in Iraq is linked to an effective Iraqi national reconciliation." He also said that the US was now willing to speak to any insurgent group except al-Qaeda in an effort to reduce sectarian bloodshed in Iraq.
'Goal is victory' "We are open to dialogue because we all know that, at the end of the day, the solution to the hell and the killings in Iraq is linked to an effective Iraqi national reconciliation."
Mr Fernandez's comments came after Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address that US troops were changing tactics to deal with the insurgency. Winds of change?
However, state department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "What he [Alberto Fernandez] says is that it is not an accurate quote."
Mr McCormack also denied that the US had been guilty of arrogance or stupidity saying that history would be the judge of US actions in Iraq.
The BBC Monitoring Service has confirmed that Mr Fernandez did use the words "arrogance and stupidity" in his interview.
Mr Fernandez's comments came after Mr Bush said that US troops were changing tactics to deal with the insurgency in Iraq.
Mr Bush held talks on the violence with his military commandersMr Bush held talks on the violence with his military commanders
"Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging," he said. "Our goal is victory. What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal." Mr Bush held a video conference on the new measures with top US military commanders in Iraq on Saturday against the backdrop of more US losses in Iraq - 78 so far this month.
He later held a teleconference call with senior military commanders, as violence continued in Iraq. A new poll suggests two-thirds of Americans believe the US is losing the war in Iraq, a proportion which analysts says could translate into a drubbing at the polls for Mr Bush's Republican Party in next month's mid-term elections.
Saturday saw 17 people killed in a mortar attack on a market near the capital, Baghdad, while three US marines were killed in Anbar province, bringing the total number of US troops killed in Iraq in October to 78.
The BBC's James Westhead in Washington says that while there is no official change in US strategy, change is on everyone's lips.The BBC's James Westhead in Washington says that while there is no official change in US strategy, change is on everyone's lips.
A new poll weeks before key Congressional elections shows two-thirds of Americans believe the US is losing the war in Iraq. But a report in the New York Times that officials are drawing up a timetable for Iraq's government to improve security has been denied by both White House and state department officials.
In an interview with the BBC, British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells has suggested that the Iraqi security forces could take over much of the work of US-led forces within a year.
On Sunday funerals were taking place for 17 people killed in a mortar attack on a market near the capital, Baghdad.