Annan: Iraq 'Much Worse' Than Civil War

U.N. Secretary-General Says Average Iraqis Worse Off Now Than Under Saddam

(CBS/AP)  The current situation in Iraq is "much worse" than civil war, the outgoing United Nations secretary-general said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. broadcast Monday.

Calling the situation "extremely dangerous," Kofi Annan said that the international community must help the country to rebuild because he is uncertain Iraq can accomplish it on its own.

"Given the level of violence, the level of killing and bitterness and the way that forces are arranged against each other, a few years ago, when we had the strife in Lebanon and other places, we called that a civil war; this is much worse," Annan said.

Last week, when asked by reporters if Iraq was in civil war, Annan — whose second five-year term as secretary-general ends Dec. 31 — said "almost."

"I think given the developments on the ground, unless something is done drastically and urgently to arrest the deteriorating situation, we could be there. In fact we are almost there," he said last week.

President Bush, and members of his cabinet, have thus far refused to label the strife in Iraq as a civil war, saying instead that the sectarian violence is being driven by an al Qaeda plot to foment religious hatred.

During the interview with the BBC world service, Annan agreed when it was suggested that some Iraqis believe life is worse now than it was under Saddam Hussein's regime.

"I think they are right in the sense of the average Iraqi's life," Annan said. "If I were an average Iraqi obviously I would make the same comparison, that they had a dictator who was brutal but they had their streets, they could go out, their kids could go to school and come back home without a mother or father worrying, 'Am I going to see my child again?'

"And the Iraqi government has not been able to bring the violence under control. The society needs security and a secure environment for it to get on — without security not much can be done — not recovery or reconstruction."

In Baghdad, President Jalal Talabani on Sunday rejected Annan's suggestion last week that an international conference be held to address Iraq's violence, echoing sentiments expressed by other leading politicians.

Talabani, a Kurd, holds a largely ceremonial post, But his comments echoed those voiced by other politicians, including a leader from Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, which is the dominant force in the U.S.-backed government.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari questioned the aim of such a conference, saying it would only be welcome if it supported current efforts to solve Iraq's security problems and assist the government.

Also denouncing the idea of an international conference on the future of Iraq is Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq's top Shiite politicians.

Al-Hakim meets Monday with President Bush in Washington. CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk says al-Hakim is likely, nonetheless, to support the idea of talks with Iran as part of the effort to stop the sectarian bloodshed in Iraq.

[jackntx]

Agnim,

What evidence do you have that anyone has 'stolen' Iraqi oil wealth???

The allegation is yet another one that is baseless, uninformed, and rancid.

[jackntx]

TJ1504,

Great quote! It definitely is applicable to the current War.

[tj1504]

%u201CIf you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.%u201D

Winston Churchill

[bellal-2009]

I continue to have faith in the Iraqi people that they will find their path to peace and democracy.

[mh4cbs1]

skash,

If this War depresses you, I can tell you are too young to remember the horror of Vietnam.

Over a million Vietnamese died by our War based on fear, hubris and lies (sound familiar?). We dropped more tonnage of bombs then in all of World War II. Agent Orange herbicide was sprayed far and wide poisoning their lands and later causing countless birth defects. Nixon secretly invaded Cambodia, destabalizing their country leading to the rise of Pol Pot, who murdered a few million more.

So look on the bright side. This particular needless War of US Imperialism for power and profit in Iraq, is just one War in a long chain of horrors caused by our US corporate rulers.

In Iraq, only about 3,000 US troops have died so far, 600 US contractors dead, and a few hundred thousand Iraqis (if anyone would care to count them).

So this War in Iraq is a small price for the NeoCons to pay if they get their permanent bases and control over the Oil.

Feel better now?

[mh4cbs1]

Bush and Cheney will NEVER leave Iraq without permanent military bases, control over the Oil, and some kind of friendly regime in power. Democracy? you think they care? these are the guys who backed their friend Sadddam in the 80's!

The needless Iraq Invasion is all part of the NeoCon grand plan, which they documented in their own words in 1997(Google 'PNAC' and look who signed it). This gang exploited 9-11 to scare and lie their way into Iraq, pulling troops from Afghanistan and letting Osama walk.

You have no "Stomach for the War"? as Mr. '5-Deferment' Cheney sneers at his peace-loving critics. So easy for these NeoCon thugs to use our middle class kids as cannon fodder for their imperial wars. 3,000 dead soldiers, thousands more maimed for life. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians slain, hundreds of Billions of OUR money wasted. Who suffers War, and who Profits from War? Figure it out yet?

JAIL BUSH, CHENEY and their treasonous gang of murdering thugs. Do it in the name of every dead US soldier, every soldier with missing limbs, brain damage from IEDs. Do it for the hundreds of thousands dead Iraqi civilians.

The death and destruction unleashed by Bush and Cheney is 100 times the horror of Osama. Face the FACTS and JAIL BUSH.

[patriotic9]

"dirty little African monkey"
This is the same mentality resulted in the deaths of so many innocent lives in NEW ORLEANS after HURRICANE KATRINA.
Did United States ask for ANNAN's approval before invading Iraq?
What was the justification of giving more then $3B a year to the NON-AMERICAN EUROPEAN INVADERS in PALESTINE when govt didn't have money to help
going through tough time in NEW ORLEANS?Because according to the RADICAL,RACIST and UNJUST CHRISTIANITY those NON-AMERICAN EUROPEAN INVADERS in PALESTINE are GOD-CHOSEN because of the RACE CHOSEN by the race CHOSEN by a RACIST GOD,whereas people dying in the NEW ORLEANS were brorn in the GOD-NEGLECTED BALCK race NEGLECTED by that RACIST GOD.

[olebd]

I hope new U.N. leadership will bring a more aggressive approach to convincing other U.N. countries to provide assistance to Iraq so that the U.S. can finally get out of there.

Annan is much too passive in his techniques.

[agnim]

Posted by cathaleen at 10:21 AM : Dec 04, 2006

What 'stolen money' is your little mind blabbering about?

Considering the billions upon billions of Iraq oil wealth stolen by American and british invaders and other corporations and individuals, even the sum of which the Anans were FALSELY accused of stealing is so paltry, it couldn't even buy you 6 months of napkins.

But little minds like yours are too small and narrow to follow billions of stolen Iraqi oil monies; and so they latches onto the crumbs of a few paltry Iraqi oil dollars, which are nothing but propaganda diversions for small minds that can't deal with billion$. Tsk-tsk.

[skash-2009]

The Iraq War has caused me to be depressed and I am a very upbeat person, as a general rule. The fact this war is senseless, illegal and immoral and we have killed thousands of Iraqis and basically ruined their country and harmed so many of our troops in the process, nags at me. I sometimes awake in the middle of the night with this war heavy on my mind. I also find it very disturbing that so may million Americans were ready willing and able to send us into the abyss called the Iraq War. Americans must take a hard look at ourselves and realize the greater questions is not what is wrong with them, but what is wrong with us. Until we figure out how we could elect an inept leader like Bush and his bunch of bandits and then follow them over the cliff, I do not believe we need to be handing out advise to any other country.

[patriotic9]

Catahaleen
If he really stole money in the OIL FOR FOOD SCANDAL,the people suffered were IRAQIs.Removing him from power and to bring RADICAL ISLAMIST to kill all the JEWS,CHRISTIAN and REST OF ALL THE NON-MUSLIMS in the MIDDLE EAST for fulfilling the second coming of MESSIAH named IMAM AL MEHDI by our tax dollars and our soldier's lives will result in the suffering of the people of UNITED STATES for ever.Jews and Christians living in Middle East can be brought into UNITED STATES or EUROPEAN COUNTRIES but once those RADICAL AYATOLLAHs get the control of the MIDDLE EASTERN OIL,we will be thrown back in the stone age.

[cathaleen]

It's probably true what he says = but what about all the money him and his son Cujo stole from the Iraqi people in the oil for food scandal?
No one seems to mention that anymore - who paid off whom?

[grumpas]

I can believe what he is saying!!! It appears to be far worse than our civil war ever was! At least it wasn't urban warfare!!! But, it's like newster1 says! That's what happens when you choose to mess in other countries politic's! Maybe the American people will eventually learn! To accept people and their belief's as they are and not try to change them!

[patriotic9]

kcstan11
Maliki is a RADICAL ISLAMIST and SADDAM was against the RADICAL ISLAM.Maliki will definately hang the enemy of his RELIGION.

[kcstan11]

I hope that DUMBYA and Maliki don't hang Saddam. Putting him back in power IS the ONLY answer.

[patriotic9]

2nd major mistake because of the RADICAL CHRISTIANITY we did and we are going through it was to invade IRAQ for helping the 2nd coming of CHRIST.Does anybody remember OSAMA BEEN FORGOTTEN.Didn't we start this war to capture him DEAD or ALIVE.How come we eneded up in IRAQ which had nothing to do with 9/11.It's as PSYCHOTIC as EUROPEANS killed by HITLER in GERMANY and price is PAYED by those PALESTINIANS who don't even understand the language spoken by HITLER.
OSAMA BEEN FORGOTTEN was in TORA BORA easily escape from there because of not having enough BOOTS on the ground since BUSH was saving MILITARY for IRAQ INVASION to help the 2nd coming of the CHRIST.
United States has invaded IRAQ and removed a SECULAR DICATATOR who had killed his own people because they wanted to establish a RADICAL ISLAMIC EMPIRE from IRAN in the EAST to LEBANON in the WEST.Now on the name of DEMOCRACY,a RADICAL EXTRMIST SHIA named MALIKI has been brought into power who is taking US tax payed money on the name of REBUILDING IRAQ and weapons(must have read the news about missing weapons given to IRAQI SECURITY FORCES and how well armed were HEZBOLLAH FIGHTER were this year while fighting) to use them against our soldiers in IRAQ and to build an ISLAMIC EMPIRE which according to their PSYCHOTIC RELIGIOUS BELIEF will help the 2nd coming of their MESSIAH IMAM AL MEHDI who will kill all the UNBELIEVERS.The killing of a CHRISTIAN LEADER in LEBANON is a part of that plan.

[patriotic9]

Whenever any religion(specially THE NON-SENSE CHRISTAININTY)has ever involved into politics,it resulted in miseries and destructions.The most important thing we need to do is to remove all the UNCONSTITUTIONAL REMARKS like "In GOD we trust" or "One nation under GOD"out of our politics.
Christianity is nothing but PSYCHOSIS that's why the RADICAL CHRISTIANS end up SEXUALLY MOLESTING and SODOMIZING those YOUNG LITTLE AMERICAN BOYS in the CHURCHES who call them FATHER or SEXUAL HARASSMENT of AMERICAN BOYS by the REPUBLICAN FOLEY.
The worst psychotic policy we AMERICAN had made on the basis of NON-SENSE,BASELESS,RACIST,UNJUST and THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD BACKWARD CHRISTIANITY was to support and protect those EUROPEANS who were brought into PALESTINE after WWII to occupy the land of PALESTINIAN PEOPLE by force,when those PALESTINIANS had nothing to do with the crimes of HITLER on the cost of AMERICAN MONEY and AMERICAN LIVES because of the RACIST and UNJUST CHRISTIAN ideology that AMERICANS are GOD-NEGLECTED and the NON-AMERICAN EUROPEAN INVADERS in PALESTINE are GOD-CHOSEN.The sole purpose of the creation of AMERICANS is to serve and being slave of those GOD-CHOSEN who cause hatred and 9/11 against our nation
It's so simple to understand,if we take OIL in cheaper prices from ARABS and then support their those enemies who were brought in their land to occupy their land by force,the ARABS were supposed to react by 9/11.

[mjv2944]

Now we know why Saddam was such a mean SOB! Time to leave, as this situation will be the same whether we are there are not. They are a tribal nation split three ways, and that may be the only way to stop it. Some how the oil revenues would have to be split three ways. You hate to see a country broken into three parts, but I think that is the only answer. We should have stayed out, especially now that we have found out we went in on a lie. There is no victory for the USA, unless we unleash the full might of our military, then you might as well bulldoze Baghdad and blacktop it.

[nothappyatall]

"Calling the situation "extremely dangerous,"


only dangerous for IRAQ.

THIS is what happens when we meddle in other countries affairs.

[juliehg-2009]

bodiddle49

So, you are saying Iraq is a natural disaster? Sorry, don't buy it -- there is no comparison. We never should have entered Iraq in the first place. Katrina, et.al. was not a preemptive strike..