Send more troops to Iraq, Powell says he urged Bush

Send more troops to Iraq,Powell says he urged Bush
LONDON -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell advised President Bush before the Iraq war to send more troops to the country, but the administration did not follow his recommendation, Powell said in an interview broadcast today.
Critics accuse Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld of failing to send enough soldiers to secure the peace in Iraq after the invasion three years ago.
Powell said he gave the advice to now-retired Gen. Tommy Franks, who developed and executed the Iraq invasion plan, and Rumsfeld while the president was present.
"I made the case to Gen. Franks and Secretary Rumsfeld before the president that I was not sure we had enough troops," Powell said in an interview on Britain's ITV television, according to a transcript released by the network. "The case was made, it was listened to, it was considered. ... A judgment was made by those responsible that the troop strength was adequate."
Powell, who served as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Gulf War, is known for his belief in deploying decisive force with a clear exit strategy in any conflict.
Rumsfeld has rejected criticism that he had sent too few U.S. troops to Iraq, saying that Franks and two other generals who oversaw the campaign's planning -- John Abizaid and George Casey -- had determined the overall number of troops, and that he and Bush agreed with them.
Arson squad mistakesnews rack for a bomb
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- A newspaper promotion for Tom Cruise's upcoming "Mission: Impossible III" got off to an explosive start when a county arson squad blew up a news rack, thinking it contained a bomb.
The confusion: The Los Angeles Times rack was fitted with a digital musical device designed to play the "Mission: Impossible" theme song when the door was opened. But in some cases, the red plastic boxes with protruding wires were jarred loose and dropped onto the stack of newspapers inside, alarming customers.
Sheriff's officials said they rendered the news rack in this suburb 35 miles north of downtown Los Angeles "safe" after being called to the scene Friday by a concerned individual who thought he'd seen a bomb.
Times officials said the devices were placed in 4,500 randomly selected news boxes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in a venture with Paramount Pictures designed to turn the "everyday news rack experience" into an "extraordinary mission."
Iran sets conditionsto allow inspections
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said Saturday it would allow United Nations inspectors to resume snap inspections of its nuclear facilities, but only if the dispute again went before the U.N. nuclear monitor.
The White House rejected the offer, which apparently came as Iran sought to avoid a full-blown U.N. debate over sanctions.
"Today's statement does not change our position that the Iranian government must give up its nuclear ambitions, nor does it affect our decision to move forward to the United Nations Security Council," said Blaine Rethmeier, a White House spokesman.
Russia, which has steadfastly opposed possible sanctions against Iran, joined the international chorus in telling Iran it must stop nuclear enrichment.
Iran's offer to open itself to nuclear inspections was issued a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear monitor, confirmed the Iranians successfully produced enriched uranium and had defied the Friday U.N. Security Council deadline to freeze the process.
Facing charge of treason
BLANTYRE, Malawi -- Malawi's vice president, arrested on treason charges, is accused of plotting to assassinate President Bingu wa Mutharika, a top government minister said Saturday.
Vice President Cassim Chilumpha was arrested late Friday, the culmination of a power struggle between Mutharika and his deputy.
Chilumpha's party, the United Democratic Front, said the charges were a "figment of the imagination."
Chemical plant explodes
PORT ARTHUR, Texas -- An explosion and fire at a chemical plant produced dense clouds of smoke Saturday and forced some residents of the area to spend hours indoors with their doors and windows closed. No injuries were reported.
Roads around the Huntsman Chemical Plant were closed after the 7 a.m. explosion. At one point flames billowed an estimated 100 feet high and heavy, black smoke poured out of one unit of the plant.
Clark T. Colvin, a spokesman for Huntsman, said all plant personnel were safely evacuated. The cause of the blast was not immediately determined.
Associated Press