US intelligence chief predicts worse violence in Iraq
9:03 AM February 28
The United States director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, is warning the violence in Iraq may get much worse.
Admiral McConnell has told the Senate's armed services committee that sectarian violence in Iraq has become self-sustaining.
"The current security and political trends in Iraq are moving in a negative direction, particularly after the February 2006 bombing of the Mosque at Samara," he said.
He said the latest US intelligence estimate paints a grim picture of the future.
"Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12 to 18-month time frame of this estimate, we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at a rate comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
Admiral McConnell says the violence would only get much worse if US troops were to leave.
The bleak security outlook came as the US agreed to take part in a regional conference to discuss ways of ending the violence in iraq.
The meeting, to be held in Baghdad in April, will involve all of Iraq's neighbours including Iran and Syria, two countries the US has refused to negotiate with.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she hopes Iran and Syria will seize this opportunity to bring peace and stability to the region. Source: ABC
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