Egyptian diplomat terms Bush's new Iraqi policy "continued mistake"

An Egyptian diplomatic expert Thursday slammed U.S. President George W. Bush's new Iraqi strategy which included sending extra American troops to Iraq as a "continued mistaken policy."

"American war on Iraq is a mistake, which led to very grave consequences in Iraq, (and) I don't think increasing troops would help the situation there. It's a continued mistaken policy," Abd Raouf el-Ridy, Egyptian Foreign Affairs Council Chairman and former Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

He said that Bush took his own way, regardless of the domestic opposition from the Democrats and anti-war passions among Americans, because he is unwilling to admit his failure in Iraqi issue.

"However, the more he pushes through, the more mistakes he makes," added Ridy.

Meanwhile, Ridy suggested that Bush should follow the advice of his military advisers and U.S. bipartisan Iraq Study Group led by former U.S. Secretary of Iraq Lee Hamilton in dealing with the Iraqi issue.

Bush must recognize that the only solution to the Iraqi problem is not military one but political one that based on dialogue with Iraqi factions and neighboring countries, said Ridy.

On Wednesday night, Bush announced in Washington that he was increasing U.S. troops in Iraq by 21,500 in an attempt to change the course of the war, which drew immediately criticism from both the U.S. Democrats and Iraqis.

Source: Xinhua