'Spy agencies foretold problems US faces in Iraq'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US intelligence analysts predicted, in two papers widely circulated before the 2003 Iraq invasion, that al-Qaida would see US military action as an opportunity to increase its operations and that Iran would try to shape the post-Saddam Hussein era in Iraq. The top analysts in government also said that establishing a stable democracy in Iraq would be a long and turbulent challenge. Democrats said the documents, part of a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation released Friday, make clear that the Bush administration was warned about the challenges it now faces as it tries to stabilize Iraq. "Sadly, the administration's refusal to heed these dire warnings - and, worse, to plan for them - has led to tragic consequences for which our nation is paying a terrible price," said the Democratic Senate Intelligence chairman, Jay Rockefeller.