War Architect Blasts CIA, State Dept. for Iraq Fumbles

A top Iraq war architect slams the CIA and State Department for flawed handling of the build-up and eventual invasion in a new book, the Washington Post reports. Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense, takes shots at Colin Powell, Tommy Franks, and ex-occupation chief Paul Bremer, among others, for brushing off Feith’s and the Bush administration’s plans.

One notable revelation in the 900-page tome, War and Decision, quotes Bush calling war “inevitable”—weeks before UN weapons inspectors reported their findings. But the majority of the book focuses on the mismanagement of an invasion Feith still favors. The administration, he says, shouldn’t have put so much weight on WMDs: Saddam Hussein’s prior conduct was enough to justify war. (More Douglas Feith stories.)