Diplomat: U.S. arrogant, stupid in Iraq

Washington - A senior U.S. State Department diplomat has told Arab satellite network Al Jazeera that there is a strong possibility history will show the United States displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity" in its handling of the Iraq war.

Alberto Fernandez made his comments on Saturday to the Qatar-based network in a 35-minute interview from Washington, where he is director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Near East Affairs.

He explained and defended his comments to CNN.

"History will decide what role the United States played," he told Al Jazeera in Arabic, based on CNN translations. "And God willing, we tried to do our best in Iraq.

"But I think there is a big possibility (inaudible) for extreme criticism and because undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq."

Fernandez's comments came as President Bush gathered his senior generals to discuss changes to strategy in Iraq, where violence has spiked in recent days.

In the latest incidents Saturday, 17 bullet-riddled bodies were found across Baghdad, apparently the victims of violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Separately, U.S.-led coalition forces killed five suspected terrorists and wounded a sixth in an airstrike early Sunday as they were planting a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said.

The coalition forces "observed a group of terrorists digging a hole in a road near Arab Jabour...while one individual stood watch," the statement said. The airstrike "with precision fires" was launched after they witnessed the terrorists placing the bomb into the freshly dug hole.

Clarifying his comments, Fernandez told CNN he was replying to a question about how people will assess the United States in the future, and he said he thought that was how the country would be judged.

He was defending U.S. policy in a region where everyone dislikes the United States, he said, and was doing so in an aggressive way that was faithful to U.S. policy, and trying to put it in the best light. Fernandez said he was "not dissing U.S. policy."

"I know what the policy is and what the red lines are, and nothing I said hasn't been said before by senior officials," the diplomat told CNN. "Nothing I said during this interview broke new ground."

He referred to a speech made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in March as an example.

Rice, during a visit to Blackburn, England, acknowledged to journalists that mistakes had been made in the war.

"I am quite certain there are going to be dissertations written about the mistakes of the Bush administration."

"I know we've made tactical errors, thousands of them, I'm sure," Rice said. "But when you look back in history, what will be judged" is whether the "right strategic decision" was made.

Ousting Saddam Hussein was the correct thing to do, because he was a threat to the international community, she added.

Responding to Fernandez's comments, State Dept. Spokesman Sean McCormick told reporters "he (Fernandez) says he has been misquoted. I asked if he thought it was lost in translation and he said, 'That's my take.'"

Additionally, a senior Bush administration official earlier said, "I can only assume his remarks must have been mistranslated. Those comments obviously don't reflect our policy."

In further violence on Saturday, 18 and 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded in an attack at an outdoor market in a Mahmoudiya town, Iraqi authorities said.

The death toll released by the U.S. military was lower. Officials said 11 people were killed and 23 were wounded.

The military said the casualties were the result of multiple car bombs, while the Iraqi Defense and Interior ministries said five parked motorcycles were rigged with explosives, and three mortar rounds fell.

The Defense Ministry said 20 people died and 30 others were wounded. The Interior Ministry said 18 died and 60 were wounded.

Soldiers and Iraqi police were searching for the attackers.

Markets in Iraq are typically packed at this time of year with shoppers buying chocolate, candy and new clothes to celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

The attack, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Baghdad, came two days after a similar attack in Khalis, north of Baquba. In that outdoor market attack, seven people were killed and 19 wounded.

Meanwhile, three U.S. Marines were killed by enemy action in Anbar province Saturday, the U.S. military said.

The deaths bring the October death toll to 78, the highest U.S. monthly total this year. Seventy-six troops were killed in April. A total of 2,791 troops have been killed in the war.

The attacks coincided with a White House summit at which President Bush discussed the Iraq situation with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Gen. John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command; Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and, via videolink from Baghdad, Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Also participating were Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and national security adviser Stephen Hadley.

No announcements followed the 90-minute meeting, which was described as routine by the administration. However, sources said Friday that the meeting had been arranged only in the past few days.

Bush is expected to have similar meetings in the weeks ahead and proceed with "regular consultations with his Iraq team," White House spokeswoman Nicole Guillemard said.

In his weekly Saturday radio address, Bush said the U.S. military's strategy on the ground is under constant review.

But he emphasized: "There is one thing we will not do: We will not pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete."

In the Democratic radio response to Bush's Saturday radio address, Diane Farrell, who is seeking the seat of GOP Rep. Chris Shays in Connecticut, urged Bush to fire Rumsfeld and for Congress to establish benchmarks for Iraqi officials, The Associated Press reported.

Calling for a "new direction in Iraq," Farrell said: "An arbitrary departure date could be dangerous, but real goals for the new Iraqi government and its army are necessary."

The White House talks were held two days after Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the United States was having to rethink its plan to make Baghdad safer amid an upsurge in violence he said could be linked to Ramadan and November's U.S. congressional elections. -- CNN News

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