The New York Sun February 7, 2003 Key White House Iraq Aide Is Out Miller and Leverett Of CIA Will Leave
By ADAM DAIFALLAH Staff Reporter of the Sun WASHINGTON - In what appears to be the beginning of a significant personnel shakeup at President Bush's National Security Council, a key aide on Iraq, Ben Miller, has departed. Members of the free Iraqi opposition to Saddam Hussein had criticized Mr. Miller,who was on loan to the NSC from the Central Intelligence Agency, for what they said was a hostility toward Iraqi democrats and President Bush's policy of a democratic future for Iraq. The Bush administration has been criticized for what some say is a slow pace in planning for a post-Saddam Iraq. Mr. Miller previously worked on the Iraq file at the CIA. The agency has tried without success for years to foment coups to remove Saddam from power. The NSC shakeup comes as Mr. Bush continued to heat up his rhetoric on Iraq, the State Department issued a warning for Americans abroad that new attacks using chemical or biological weapons could occur, and the Homeland Security Department said it is considering raising the threat level to "orange" - the second highest on a six-level scale. It is not clear whether Mr. Miller was fired or left on his own volition, but his departure comes at a critical time as America and its allies prepare for a war to liberate Iraq and as Iraqi opposition figures prepare to establish a provisional government to take power after Saddam's ouster. Another NSC staffer on loan from the CIA is also leaving. Flynt Leverett was a senior director for Middle East Initiatives and an advocate of Mr. Bush's "roadmap" for Arab-Israeli peace. The departures are being interpreted as a sign that Elliott Abrams, the NSC' s recently appointed senior director for Near East, Southwest Asian and North African affairs with responsibility for Arab-Israeli issues, is exerting his influence. There is also speculation that Hillary Mann, a National Security Council director under Mr.Abrams who is on loan from the State Department, is on her way out as well. Ms. Mann is Mr. Leverett's fiancée. A spokesman for the NSC, Michael Anton, confirmed Messrs. Miller and Leverett's departures and said he did not have information on potential replacements. "It's part of usual staff turnover. NSC staff comes and goes," Mr. Anton said. Sources familiar with the NSC say Mr. Miller's exit was unplanned.One conservative close to the administration characterized it as "a late-night departure." An expert on Iraq who follows the Iraqi opposition movement, Laurie Mylroie, called Mr. Miller's leaving "very important." "You need people there who will carry out the administration's policies. He was reflecting the CIA's position, which is to be hostile to a democratic future for Iraq," Ms. Mylroie said. Meanwhile, in his clearest signal yet that time is running out for a peaceful solution to the conflict, Mr. Bush said that world leaders "must not back down" from Saddam Hussein and demanded quick action to disarm the Iraqi dictator. "Saddam Hussein was given a final chance," Mr. Bush said, referring to the resolution approved unanimously in November by the Security Council that launched new U.N. inspections. "He is throwing that chance away." "The game is over," Mr. Said. "Saddam Hussein will be stopped." Mr.Bush said he would welcome a second U.N.resolution on Iraq,following up on one approved last November, but only if it led to prompt disarmament. Britain is likely to introduce such a resolution authorizing force after top weapons inspectors return from Baghdad and report to the Security Council on February 14, British and American diplomats said. Unlike Britain, France has balked at the idea of war, and Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, French ambassador to the United Nations, said yesterday, "the time has not come" for a second resolution. "The Security Council must not back down when those demands are defied and mocked by a dictator," Mr. Bush said. If the U.N. fails to act,"The United States, along with a growing coalition of nations, is resolved to take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves and disarm the Iraqi regime," he said. At the United Nations at New York, the Iraqi representative, Mohammed Al-Douri, said of Mr. Bush, "It sounds like he wants a resolution for war." In Baghdad, an Iraqi arms expert submitted to a private interview with U.N. weapons inspectors, the first sign of cooperation in that area. Secretary of State Powell appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday where he said that the creation of a democratic regime in Iraq "could fundamentally reshape" the Middle East and make it easier to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict. That's the language normally used by the more hawkish officials at the Pentagon, who want to use a liberated, democratic Iraq as a catalyst for a democratic chain reaction in the Middle East,where dictators govern almost all nations. But in the last few weeks, Mr. Powell, who has in the past been less enthusiastic about the idea of spreading democracy in the region, has warmed to the hawkish position. "I think there is also the possibility that success could fundamentally reshape that region in a powerful, positive way that will enhance U.S. interests, especially if in the aftermath of such a conflict we are also able to achieve progress on the Middle East peace," Mr. Powell said.
