Iraq war biggest mistake of US: Albright

[Yusuf]

NEW DELHI: Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright on Tuesday said that the war on Iraq was the US's "biggest mistake".

"America attacked Afghanistan as a direct result of Sep 11 bombings. However, the war on Iraq was the biggest mistake we could make and are still hurt because of it."

However, Albright, who served in the Bill Clinton administration, added that the international community has a responsibility to act if a country's leaders deny the people their rights, despite such actions being an encroachment of that country's sovereignty.

Albright was interacting with the recipients of Young India fellowship in the capital.

Asked about the possibility of a Republican winning the 2012 US presidential election, Albright said she would work for the re-election of President Barack Obama, and otherwise "the democracy has the ability to correct itself".

Earlier, Albright, a PhD from Columbia University and the first woman to become the US secretary of state, said she had not thought of becoming the secretary of state during her education, and urged the fellows not to be bound by fixed plans.

"I never actually had a fixed plan of becoming the secretary of state. My advice would be to go with the flow and love whatever you do," she said.

"Whatever you do, if you deliver, it adds to your resume and shows that you are a responsible worker," she added.

Praising the organisers of the fellowship for its interdisciplinary nature, Albright said such a fellowship could help the young students "discover what they really want to do in life".

Talking on a wide variety of subjects, including international politics and careers, Albright recounted anecdotes from her own career and shared the difficulties she had to face as a woman in higher echelons of American politics.

She also had an advice for the women fellows present in the audience.

"Often, we see so many mediocre men getting the top jobs but the women have to be excellent in order to move ahead. I think that women need to learn how to operate within the system and interrupt whenever they have any idea, rather than waiting on for a really smart one."

However, she also urged the women to keep a cool head in the male-dominated workplace, as "it never helped going around being angry about things".

http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/14413769.cms

 

[Ray]

Albright is being narrow minded.

Militarily correct.

Strategically not.

It opened a 'window of opportunity' to bring OPEC to heel as also push the southern belly of the erstwhile USSR and ensure a central place in ME for quick reaction without the long drawn out mobilisation!

 

[SADAKHUSH]

I am of the opinion that USA was doing a favour to KSA in return for financing of war by GCC nations. I would have prefered invasion of Pakistan by NATO by mobilising the troops on their border of AFG-PAK. It would have also helped to resolve the Kashmir issue once for all. The world opinion would have also backed the invasion of real perpetrator of terrorism around the world. This would have been the end of thugs of ISI and PA.

 

[ejazr]

@Ray Sir

Iraq was never allowed to play a major role in OPEC and the war actually allowed oil prices to sky rocket HELPING the OPEC bloc and countries like Iran. And Iraq today is pretty much a proxy of Iran now. Saddam was anti-Iran and kept Iranian ambitions in check even indirectly

Almost all leading strategists and policy makers in the US from the former defence secretary Robert Gates to Madeline Albright here consider it the biggest disaster in US foreign policy in decades. The focus should have been on Af-Pak, and when that was resolved, focus on China and the CAR states. That is where the underbelly lies. And its really China that is going to be the counterpart of the US. Russia just does not have the economic capacity to do so.

@SADAKHUSH
Agree with most of what you said except that KSA would not have preferred Iraq being handed to Iran like what has happened now. According to the wikileaked cables, they wanted the US to be clear about staying in Iraq to keep Iran out if they wanted to remove Saddam. And that if they could not do that, then they should not invade Iraq. That is why the Saudis were quite upset when Obama pulled out US troops from Iraq.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

"Often, we see so many mediocre men getting the top jobs but the women have to be excellent in order to move ahead. I think that women need to learn how to operate within the system and interrupt whenever they have any idea, rather than waiting on for a really smart one."

Halfbright is mediocre. Her words were entirely political, and she emulates 0bama by denigrating her country on foreign soil.

Asked about the possibility of a Republican winning the 2012 US presidential election, Albright said she would work for the re-election of President Barack Obama, and otherwise "the democracy has the ability to correct itself".

The USA is a republic; 0bama and his supporters such as Halfbright are a threat to the republic and must be removed.