Reply #4: U.S. underestimated Iraq political problems: Gates [View All]

[rodeodance]

Source: reuters




U.S. underestimated Iraq political problems: Gates

By Andrew Gray 28 minutes ago

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday the United States had probably underestimated how hard it would be for Iraqi political leaders to agree reconciliation measures.
...........

He said he was more optimistic now than several months ago that increased U.S. troop levels could improve security in Iraq, but political progress had proved harder than anticipated.

The main Sunni Muslim bloc quit Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government on Wednesday, underscoring how difficult relations are between political groups.

"We probably all underestimated the depth of the mistrust and how difficult it would be for these guys to come together on legislation which, let's face it, is not just some sort of secondary kind of thing," Gates said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070802/pl_nm/mideast_usa_gates_dc;_ylt=AojhwFJ.iALYC0N1bODf95Ws0NUE