Perle Cites Errors in Iraq, Urges Power Transfer
PARIS (Reuters) - Richard Perle, a leading Pentagon ( news - web sites) adviser and architect of the U.S. war to topple Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites ), said the United States had made mistakes in Iraq ( news - web sites) and that power should be handed over to the Iraqis as fast as possible.
In an interview with the Le Figaro daily newspaper to be published Thursday, Perle defended the U.S.-led war in Iraq and restated his belief that France had been wrong to lead international opposition to the conflict.
"Of course, we haven't done everything right," said Perle, according to the French text of the interview. "Mistakes have been made and there will be others.
"Our principal mistake, in my opinion, was that we didn't manage to work closely with the Iraqis before the war, so that there was an Iraqi opposition capable of taking charge immediately," he said.
"Today, the answer is to hand over power to the Iraqis as soon as possible," he added.
Perle resigned in March as chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board over alleged conflicts of interest, but remains an influential figure in neo-conservative circles.
He also renewed criticism of President Jacques Chirac's refusal to back the war. Chirac wanted more time for U.N. inspectors to search for any banned weapons.
The United States and Britain said Saddam had deliberately foiled the inspections and failed to provide evidence that it had scrapped its chemical, biological and nuclear programs.
"You have to understand that since September 11, the United States cannot allow the most terrible weapons in the world to be in the hands of the worst regimes in the world," Perle told Le Figaro, referring to the 2001 hijacked airliner attacks on U.S. landmarks that killed some 3,000 people.
Washington and London used the weapons charge, dismissed by Iraq as a pretext to wage war, to justify military intervention against Saddam. To date, no such weapons have been found.