US 'too wary of Iraq casualties'

The United States will not win in Iraq unless it is prepared to accept heavy losses on both sides, a leading former Central Intelligence Agency officer has told the BBC.

Scheuer's former unit was disbanded this week

Mike Scheuer, who headed the CIA unit charged with capturing Osama Bin Laden in the late 1990s, said that America did not want to risk large numbers of casualties, amongst either the Iraqis or its own army.

But he told BBC World Service's The Interview programme that until this policy changed, the conflict that had been going on since 2003 would not come to an end.

"We have to stop fighting as if we really truly believe the nonsense that we can fight wars without killing innocents and not losing many people ourselves," he said.

Battlefield risks

A known critic of the policies of both the Clinton and Bush administrations, Mr Scheuer quit the CIA in November 2004 to speak out over what he perceived to be security failings.

He made his name as "Anonymous", the author of two books which were highly critical of official government policy.

"Notwithstanding the rhetoric that comes out of Washington, we're clearly losing," he added.

And he described insurgencies as "the ugliest, dirtiest, bloodiest kind of war", which made it particularly difficult to win without suffering casualties.

"If you're not willing to kill civilians, or to assume that there is a likelihood that innocents are going to be killed, you have no business fighting an insurgency - because you can't win," he said.

"My ethical views are constrained by my duties to protect the United States, and as long as we're operating within the laws of our Republic, then I have no objection to whatever is done."

'Led by the nose'

But Mr Scheuer also warned that the insurgency in Iraq could not be controlled only by taking more risks on the battlefield.

He said that American foreign policy had to be changed, because al-Qaeda's leadership could rely on support as long as the US was perceived as fighting wars against Islam.

We should be the ones who call the tune, and not the ones who are led around by their nose Mike Scheuer

"We're supporting Israel without qualification, which is a disastrous situation for America; we are supporting countries which are well known for oppressing Muslims around the world," he said.

"This policy is detested at every level of Muslim society. As long as this is the case, we're going to be in this war."

And he added that he felt engagement in this way was also dangerous to America's national interest.

"If Palestine, or Israel, or Bolivia, or Belgium, disappeared from the face of the Earth tomorrow, it would not make a lick of difference to any person in the United States," he said.

"I think if we're going to be the ally of Israel, we should be the ones who call the tune, and not the ones who are led around by their nose."