NYT Coverage of the Iraq Hearings - absurd statements

And by the way, since when is democracy about invasions???

This is disgusting.

Senate Panel Hears Opinions on American Invasion of Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:33 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A post-Saddam Iraq could fall into chaos if the United States and other nations aren't prepared to take an active, expensive role in rebuilding it, Iraq analysts told a Senate panel Thursday.
``If the U.S. is going to take responsibility for removing the current leadership, it should assume that it cannot get the results it wants on the cheap,'' Phebe Marr, an author specializing in the Middle East, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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The committee held its second day of hearings examining whether a military attack on Iraq is needed and what its consequences would be. Thursday's session looked into what would happen to Iraq if the United States succeeds in driving Saddam Hussein from power.
``In Iraq we cannot afford to replace a despot with chaos,'' said Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del. ``The long-suffering Iraqi people need to know a regime change would benefit them. So do Iraq's neighbors, and the American people will want that assurance as well.''
Panelists agreed that planning for a post-Saddam regime must take place before any invasion. Rend Rahim Francke of the Iraq Foundation, a Washington-based pro-democracy group, suggested that the United States work now with opposition groups to find people who could take over basic government functions, such as policing, right after the Iraqi regime is toppled.
Both Marr and Francke said the Iraqi nation is unlikely to dissolve upon Saddam's fall, despite divisions among the three main ethnic groups: Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
But they warned of serious problems if a new leadership isn't in place immediately after Saddam is removed. Marr warned of possible ``retribution, score-settling and bloodletting'' in the immediate aftermath. Ultimately, she said, groups could struggle for power or control of oil fields, possibly leading to intervention by Turkey or Iran.
Any new leadership is unlikely to come from within Iraq, they said.
``After 30 years of repression, there is no political life in Iraq outside Saddam's leadership and Saddam's family,'' Francke said.
Marr said a U.S. occupation of Iraq would provide the best opportunity to maintain law and order and rebuild the political system, but this would require an expensive, long-term commitment by the United States, preferably working with allies.
Much of the world is wary of the possibility of the United States invading Iraq. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in remarks published Thursday that plans for attacking Iraq were unwise and outside U.N. policies. Annan was quoted in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat as saying that U.N. Security Council had not endorsed any such move.
The Bush administration has spoken of the need for a regime change in Iraq because of concerns that Saddam is developing weapons of mass destruction.
Secretary of State Colin Powell told Japan's foreign minister Thursday that no decision has been made on what action to take against Iraq, a Japanese official said on condition of anonymity. Powell and Yoriko Kawaguchi met on the sidelines of an Asian security forum in Brunei.
Meanwhile, Iraqi media reported Thursday that Saddam's air force chief told the Iraqi leader that his forces were ready to fight and win if the United States invades.
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On the Net:
Senate Foreign Relations Committee: http://foreign.senate.gov/