Mistakes were made in Iraq, British foreign secretary says

[CShine]

The US and British occupiers of Iraq made mistakes in the months following the end of major conflict last year, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said yesterday.

"With the benefit of hindsight there were decisions that were made - for example in respect of de-Baathification - which might have been done differently," Straw said. "Of course in this transition some mistakes have been made and probably the de-Baathification went too far," Straw told the BBC.

Critics of the occupation say the decision to disband the 400,000-strong Iraqi army and to purge the state of members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party has contributed to chaos and helped fuel insurgency in post-war Iraq. Straw declined to criticise decisions made by Paul Bremer, the former US administrator in Iraq, or Washington officials. But he conceded there had been "a great debate about the precise approach that should be adopted on the ground in Iraq post the major military conflict".

"Yes, of course in such situations some mistakes have been made. But I believe overall the American and the British and all the other allied troops have worked very well," Straw said.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/29/1088487970731.html?oneclick=true