Key aide says Bush lied over Iraqi Armys fate

A former envoy of President Bush has effectively called him a liar for his decision to disband the Iraqi Army.

London, Sept.5 : A former envoy of President Bush has effectively called him a liar for his decision to disband the Iraqi Army.

An angry Paul Bremer said that Bush's decision to disband the Iraqi army after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was widely seen as one of America's biggest mistakes in post-war policy.

He claims that this decision stoked rebellion among hundreds of thousands of former Iraqi soldiers who found themselves jobless. It also fuelled sectarian violence and left coalition forces completely responsible for security.

In a book published yesterday, it has been claimed that Bush had intended "to keep the army intact" but that it "didn't happen".

In revealing a letter he sent to the White House in May 2003, mentioning the plan to "dissolve Saddam's military and intelligence structures", Bremer said he wanted to refute the suggestion in the book Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush that he had acted against the President's wishes.

In an interview with author Robert Draper, Bush sounded as if he was taken unawares by the decision to abolish the army and couldn't explain how it came about.

He said his policy was initially for the Iraqi security forces to be retained and couldn't remember why that didn't happen.

"Yeah, I can't remember," he is quoted as saying. "I'm sure I said, 'This is the policy, what happened?'."

Bremer indicated he had been fuming for months over attempts by senior Bush officials to distance themselves from the order.

He said he had discussed the proposal several times with former defence chief Donald Rumsfeld.

He had also consulted with Rumsfeld's then deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, as well as the head of U.S forces in Iraq and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He also said he discussed it with senior British military officials. "This didn't just pop out of my head," he told the New York Times.

Mention of the army disbandment comes in the middle of the three-page letter sent to the White House on May 20, 2003, by Bremer.

Bremer was unapologetic and angry about being cast as a renegade.

The White House had no official comment last night.

ANI