CIA Warning: Iraq's Getting Worse
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A cable sent by the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in
Baghdad has warned that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating and may
not rebound any time soon, according to government officials cited in a
report by The New York Times. The cable, sent late last month as
the officer ended a yearlong tour, presented a bleak assessment on
matters of politics, economics and security, the officials said.
The cable warned of increased sectarian fighting and other violence
unless the Iraqi government can boost the economy and better impose its
authority, the Times cited the officials as saying. They said its
basic conclusions had been echoed in briefings presented by a senior
C.I.A. official who recently visited Iraq. The report comes as a
wave of insurgent attacks have killed more than 80 Iraqis since Friday,
and as Iraq's Sunni Arab Muslims are demanding that national elections
scheduled for Jan. 30 be postponed. Russian President Vladimir
Putin said Tuesday that he "cannot imagine" how Iraq's elections can go
forward next month amid the violence. [more] and [more]
