A BRITISH general who was at the centre of plans to rebuild Iraq last night called for an immediate public inquiry into the fiasco.
Major General Tim Cross is the first officer who has served in the war zone to break rank and criticise the Government.
He repeatedly warned Tony Blair before and after the invasion that reconstruction plans were deeply flawed. General Cross said Iraq faced anarchy without more Coalition troops and advised against disbanding the Iraq army – which proved disastrous.
But the Prime Minister ignored his concerns and he was later frozen out by one of Mr Blair’s closest advisers in Baghdad. Now the officer, the only general not to be honoured for service in Iraq, has told the Sunday Mirror: “I do think that an inquiry is needed. There is much that we need to learn from events over these last few years.
“We were not well prepared – in particular for the aftermath.”
In a stinging rebuke to the Government for trying to deflect the blame to the US he added: “It’s not good enough to pretend this was all the fault of the Americans. It wasn’t and Whitehall has as much to learn as the White House.”
He said an inquiry should be held now rather than after we have pulled out so the findings can be applied. General Cross, 51, who was second-in-command of the US-led reconstruction programme in 2003, is the first British general who has served in Iraq to call for a public inquiry.
His criticism will be a blow to Mr Blair who stands down in two weeks and may prompt other disillusioned officers to follow suit.
The married dad, who retired last year, fell out with John Sawers – Blair’s envoy in Baghdad, who has just been knighted – over what was happening when they worked together. A senior Army source said: “He was telling the uncomfortable truth. You only have to look at the state Iraq is in now.”
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2007/06/17/-we-need-iraq-inquiry–98487-19308328/