Annan: Middle East leaders say Iraq "a disaster"

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Most leaders in the Middle East told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan during his recent trip to the region that the US-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath were "a real disaster," Annan told reporters Wednesday. Annan said the United States was now in the difficult position where "it cannot stay and it cannot leave." He said the leaders he spoke to fell into two camps: some believed the United States cannot walk away from Iraq, while others, such as Iran, said it should leave and they would help stabilize the country.