Iraq in Free Fall, CIA Boss Warned

'Irreversible' problems for government bared in secret meeting
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 12, 2007 5:01 AM CDT
Iraq in Free Fall, CIA Boss Warned
A U.S. military Humvee destroyed by a roadside bomb burns in eastern Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, July 11, 2007. One civilian close to the blast was killed and two were injured, police said. There was no information on U.S. casualties. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)   (Associated Press)

The CIA director painted a grim picture of a deteriorating situation in Iraq sharply at odds with President Bush's sunny view in a closed-door session of the Iraq Study Group last November, Bob Woodward reports in the Washington Post. "The government is unable to govern," Michael Hayden flatly warned in the meeting.

What's more, the problems appear "irreversible," he added. The dire assessment came just hours after the President presented a "Churchillian" view of "victory" to the bipartisan panel, declaring that "constitutional order is emerging." Hayden's comments strongly influenced the group's final report that the Iraq situation was "grave and deteriorating." (More Michael Hayden stories.)

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