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Baghdad is least secure
Negroponte makes comparisons to Iraq and Vietnam
Iraq developments
U.S. and Iraqi forces began an offensive operation today in the capital of a northern province that has seen fierce fighting with Sunni Arab insurgents, the U.S. command said. At least 36 suspected militants were detained during a predawn raid at a major intersection in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said. In other violence, a truck going at high speed slammed into a bus stop in a town south of Baghdad, killing about 20 people, police said. It didn't appear to be an accident because the truck, an empty fuel tanker, didn't have a flat tire or any other obvious mechanical problems that would have caused the crash.
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WASHINGTON — National Intelligence Director John Negroponte says Iraq's cities are less secure and the enemy harder to identify in comparison with the situation in much of Vietnam when he served as a U.S. diplomat there in the 1960s.
An expert on Vietnam and onetime adviser to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Negroponte said he sees more differences than similarities between the two conflicts. In Vietnam, for example, there was a clear enemy, given Soviet support of the North Vietnamese. "We didn't have as many debates about the nature of the enemy as we seem to be having with respect to Iraq," Negroponte said.
Additionally, "in Vietnam, the cities were secure. The province capitals were secure. I walked around that country as an unarmed civilian for almost four years without ever having any serious brushes," said Negroponte, who served in the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. "In Iraq, even the capital is highly insecure - perhaps one of the most insecure places in the country."
Negroponte made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview that airs Sunday evening on C-SPAN's "Q&A" program. A transcript was made available to the Associated Press.
Negroponte took over as the nation's top intelligence official last year, assuming a post created to unify the 16 intelligence agencies. He indicated in the interview that he wants to stay on through the Bush administration. Many associates have expected Negroponte to return to his diplomatic roots, perhaps serving as deputy secretary of state, a position open since July.
His answer to the question - will he "stay with it for a while?" - didn't completely close the door to a new assignment. "In my own mind at least, I visualize staying with it through the end of this administration and, then I think, probably that'll be about the right time to pack it in," he said.
Negroponte, who is also a former U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, said Iraqis must take more responsibility for their security and defense. The key, he said, is Baghdad, where the violence is greatest. His comments closely tracked the conclusions of an independent group led by former Secretary of State James Baker III that is advising the administration as it redraws its Iraq policy.
"This has really got to become more and more of an Iraqi problem, and less and less of a U.S. one," he said. "I would hope that our forces can take more of a support role and a training role, and fall more into the background rather than being in the lead in the months ahead."
