ARABS-US RELATIONS - Apr 30 - Powell 'Gave Warning' On Iraq Troops.

Former US State Sec Colin Powell, advises Pres Bush and Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld, before the onset of war that the administration was not deploying enough troops to Iraq. Powell, joining a chorus of critics who have singled out Rumsfeld's handling of the war and the question of whether the US invaded Iraq with a sufficient number of troops on the ground, said in an interview on the UK's ITV that the White House did not follow his recommendation. "The president's military advisers felt that the size of the force was adequate, they may still feel that years later. Some of us don't, I don't", Powell said. "At the time the president was listening to those who were supposed to be providing him with military advice. They were anticipating a different kind of aftermath of the fall in Baghdad, it turned out to be not exactly as they had anticipated". State Sec Condoleezza Rice, when asked to address her predecessor's remarks, told CNN she did not remember Powell "specifically" voicing dissent on the issue of whether or not the invasion of Iraq was adequately resourced. "I'm quite certain that there were lots of discussions about how best to fulfil the mission that we went into Iraq [to do]. And I have no doubt that all of this was taken into consideration", Ms Rice said, adding that Bush ultimately took the advice of his military advisers. The secretary of state herself acknowledged that the US had made "thousands" of tactical errors in the Iraq war - remarks she downplayed after Rumsfeld said he did not know "what she was talking about". Powell's decision to weigh in on the issue comes at a sensitive time for Rumsfeld, who has been put on the defensive for his leadership on the war, with a slew of retired generals calling for his resignation. They claim that Rumsfeld arrogantly ignored the advice of senior military in planning for the Iraq invasion, including Eric Shinseki, the former army chief of staff who in 2003 told Congress that several hundred thousand troops would be needed for the invasion and subsequent occupation. Rumsfeld has rejected the criticism, saying decisions on the number of troops that needed to be deployed had been made by himself, now retired General Tommy Franks, and two other generals. Others, including retired Gen Richard Myers, have come to Rumsfeld's defence.