Iraq failure “would haunt U.S.” – Gates

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12/19/2006 7:00:00 AM GMT

Former CIA Director Robert Gates was officially sworn in as U.S. secretary of defense on Monday, warning that the U.S.’s failure in Iraq would be a “calamity” and vowing not to allow Afghanistan become a safe haven for “terrorists”.

Gates, 63, a former director of the CIA and adviser to six presidents, replaces embattled Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, who quit last month amid criticism of his handling of the Iraq War.

Calling Iraq his top priority, Gates promised President Bush "candor and honest counsel" and said they had discussed the situation in the war-ravaged country in depth.

"All of us want to find a way to bring America's sons and daughters home again," Gates said. “But as the president has made clear we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East,"

"Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come," he said.

The new U.S. Defense Secretary also said that the “progress” made in Afghanistan in the five years since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States "is at risk".

"The United States and its NATO allies have made a commitment to the Afghan people and we intend to keep it. Afghanistan cannot be allowed to become a sanctuary for extremists again," he said.

Earlier this month, Gates told a U.S. Senate committee that the United States was not winning the war in Iraq and warned that the Middle East could explode into violence.

His nomination was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Senate, and correspondents say he would probably be the most significant new blood to come into the Bush administration since the president took office.

Pentagon: Violence at new high in Iraq :

Iraq’s violence hit new highs between early August and early November , the Pentagon said on Monday.

In its most pessimistic report on the progress in Iraq, the Pentagon described a country descending into civil war, with violence at record highs of 959 attacks per week, waning public confidence in government and "little progress" toward political reconciliation.

The report also said that civilian casualties averaged more than 90 a day, acknowledging that there were more attacks on military targets, but stressing that civilians were likely to be killed.

The Pentagon also found that the number of attacks dipped in August with a major transfer of U.S. forces into Baghdad. But it admitted that the lull in violence was short and that the attacks increased in September.

Paradoxically, the amount of violence increased while the number of Iraqi troops also reached an all-time high, it said.

"The violence has escalated at an unbelievably rapid pace," said Marine Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, strategic plans and policy director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who briefed reporters.

Unlike earlier reports, the new one omitted any explicit statement that Iraq is not in a civil war.

"Decisive leadership by the Government of Iraq, supported by the United States and its Coalition partners, could mitigate further movement toward civil war and curb sectarian violence,” it said.

“U.S. officials split over troop surge in Iraq”:

As President Bush considers options for changing his policy in Iraq, the administration is divided over whether to send more troops to the war-torn country, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

White House officials favor a short-term increase in U.S. troop levels in Iraq over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed officials familiar with the debate.

The chiefs of the military services believe that the White House still does not have a precise mission and is latching on to the idea of increasing troops in Iraq, partly because they have limited alternatives, the report said.

The Joint Chiefs have warned that a short-term mission could give an edge to the armed factions in Iraq without providing a lasting boost to the U.S. military mission or the Iraqi military, the paper said.

Sending 15,000 to 30,000 more soldiers to Iraq for six to eight months is one recommendation under consideration as the White House weighs ways to curb the country's growing violence, the officials told the Post.

The officials said that the idea of a much larger deployment for a longer mission was virtually off the table, mainly for logistics reasons.

There are currently about 134,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.