Prewar assessment reportedly foresaw costly consequences of invading Iraq

[seemslikeadream]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The independent intelligence group that produced a gloomy report in July about the prospect of growing instability in Iraq warned the US government about the potential costly consequences of an American-led invasion two months before the war, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The assessments of war consequences came in two classified reports prepared for US President George W. Bush in January 2003 by the National Intelligence Council, an independent group that advises the director of central intelligence.

The council had predicted that an American-led invasion of Iraqwould increase support for political Islam and would result in a deeply divided Iraqi society prone to violent internal conflict, the newspaper quoted unidentified government officials as saying.

One of the reports also warned of a possible insurgency against the new Iraqi government or American-led forces, saying that rogueelements from Saddam Hussein's government could work with existingterrorist groups or act independently to wage guerrilla warfare.

According to the New York Times report, the contents of the two assessments had not been previously disclosed and were described by three government officials in separate interviews with the newspaper on Monday.

"Their disclosure could prove politically damaging to the WhiteHouse, which has already had to contend with the disclosure that the National Intelligence Estimate prepared by the council in Julypresented a far darker prognosis for Iraq through the end of 2005 than Mr. Bush has done in his statements," the newspaper report said.
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/29/content_2035935.htm

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1. Duplicate

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