Powell 'surprised' by intensity of Iraqi resistance [View All]

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was "surprised" with the intensity of the Iraqi resistance to the American occupation.

"I'm surprised. But it is more resistance than we expected to see at this time," the chief US diplomat said in an interview with CNN.

He said the US military had responded accordingly by sending more troops into Iraq.

"We will have to be there for a considerable period of time in the future in order to provide the security that they're not able yet to provide for themselves," Powell explained.

"And I think if we were on top of this security problem, if we didn't have these terrorists and thugs of the previous regime challenging us, people would be throwing roses at us for all we're doing to help with the country and to reconstruct the country," he said.

Asked if the Iraq war that ousted former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a war of choice or necessity, Powell replied:"It was a war both of choice and necessity."

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