Albright warns dark days ahead in Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-25 08:44

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright issued a stern warning Saturday about the continuing U.S. role in Iraq, saying "there are no good options at this point and the worst days may be ahead of us."

Albright, secretary of state under President Clinton, said the March 2003 invasion of Iraq has led to a series of misfortunes that should have been anticipated.

"Instead of winning friends for America, it has poisoned our relations with many countries in the Mideast and the Muslim world," Albright told a conference on the role of citizens in shaping the nation's image abroad.

"I think that if it were put to a vote, the Iraqi people might want the U.S. to stay for some period of time," Albright said. "What they don't want is a sense that we might be there forever."

Many Iraqis are suspicious that the United States is occupying the country to assure itself access to Mideastern oil, she said.

President Bush has argued that withdrawing American forces from Iraq would make the world more dangerous and allow terrorists to claim an historic victory over the United States. He repeated that stand on Thursday and said Iraqi officials are making progress in taking responsibility for their country's security.

Demonstrations, both against the war and in support of Bush, have grown since this summer when Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, started a 26-day vigil outside Bush's Texas ranch.

On Saturday, she addressed one of the largest anti-war protests to be held in Washington since the war began. The march and rally, estimated by police and organizers to have drawn tens of thousands, was one of several protests held around the country.

"How many more of other people's children are you willing to sacrifice?" Sheehan asked the crowd on the National Mall, then led them in a chant of "Not one more."

While the United States' image has been badly hammered by the course being steered in Iraq, Albright said there are still opportunities to make improvements.

She pointed to the quick and huge outpouring of U.S. aid in the wake of last year's deadly tsunami. "It made a huge difference in how America is perceived," she said.

Albright argued that American diplomacy must be based firmly in the best interests of the United States, but it also must include an understanding of the needs of other countries.

"Certainly the unilateralism we have seen in recent years hasn't worked," she said.

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