Bush should have bought Iraqi army, says ambassador

8.00am

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration might have avoided a deadly insurgency in Iraq by buying the loyalty of its former military for about US$200 million ($322m), Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States said on Sunday.

But Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan declined to say whether he had actually advised US President George W. Bush to offer former members of Saddam Hussein's military three months' pay in exchange for their services in securing Iraq.

Bandar was asked on NBC's Meet the Press whether journalist Bob Woodward was correct when he said that Bandar had advised Bush to take US$200 million and "buy off, in effect, the Iraqi army."

Bandar replied: "I don't talk about my conversations with the president ... but I believe that would have been the right way to go."

Earlier on the same programme to discuss his new book about the Bush administration, Plan of Attack, Woodward said he was told last week that Saudi officials including Bandar had recommended the US$200 million strategy to Bush and top aides.

Woodward noted that the war is costing the United States US$5 billion a month.

"And I understand that was briefed to the highest level, and it might have been the thing that would have saved the tragedy that's going on now," Woodward said.

White House officials were not immediately available to comment on either Woodward's or Bandar's remarks.

US-led forces are battling an insurgency in Iraq that has made April the bloodiest month since the toppling of Saddam and raised debate in Washington over the need for additional troops and funding.

Some of the anger US troops face stems from a decision last year to dissolve Saddam's armed forces and fire thousands of public sector workers in a drive to cleanse Iraq of its Baathist past.

On Friday, Iraq's US administrator Paul Bremer said the policy had been applied unjustly. He announced that thousands of teachers would be allowed to return to work and thousands of others would receive pensions.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq