US warned on Iraq 'planning gaps'

The State Department warned the US military before the invasion of Iraq of "serious planning gaps" for postwar security, documents have revealed.

The February 2003 memorandum - one month before the beginning of the war - said that "a failure to address public security" would result in "serious human rights abuses".

The document warned that there could be "serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security between the end of the war and reconstruction."