Brits blame USA for Iraq mess

British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was warned three years ago that US administration in Iraq was an "unbelievable mess". The claims come in a leaked memo, originally sent to Downing Street and the Foreign Office in May 2003 by John Sawers, Britain's senior official in Baghdad at the time.
The memo included criticism of the US administration run by General Jay Garner, suggesting it was out of its depth, lacked leadership and strategy, and was inaccessible to Iraqis. BBC
In later memos Sawers welcomed General Garner's replacement with US diplomat Paul Bremer. But in a June 25 memo, Sawers concluded that the situation was getting worse.
The British memos identified US failures that contained the seeds of the present insurgency and anarchy. They include:
■ A lack of interest by the US commander, General Tommy Franks, in the post-invasion phase.
■ The presence in the capital of the heavy-handed US Third Infantry Division.
■ Squandering the initial sympathy of Iraqis.
■ Bechtel, the main US civilian contractor, moving too slowly to reconnect basic services.
■ Failure to deal with health hazards, such as 40 per cent of Baghdad's sewage pouring into the Tigris and rubbish in the streets.
■ Sacking of many of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, even those in junior posts.
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The memo was included in the appendix of a new book Cobra II: the Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, by author Michael Gordon. In and interview in Britain, Gordon said:
"To be fair to Jay Garner he was called into this process very late. That's not his fault, that's the Bush administration's fault," he said. "That said he didn't have a very effective operation."
Gordon, who was an "embedded" correspondent with the US military, said at the time of the memo journalists were writing about "many of these problems" such as looting, an absence of electricity and the absence of law and order as well as the coalition not being well prepared to cope with these problems. BBC