Former top US official regrets Iraq becoming a ‘magnet’ for terrorism

If Michael Chertoff has one regret from his tenure in the Bush administration, it's Iraq.

Chertoff, who led the Department of Homeland Security for four years after 9/11, said the US-led war there not only distracted from Afghanistan, but the unclear mission and lack of post-war planning ultimately turned Iraq into “a magnet for all kinds of attacks on Americans,” consuming resources and attention that could have been used elsewhere.

In an interview with Ian Bremmer filmed around the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Chertoff reflected on America’s counterterrorism strategy and the decisions that drew the country deeper into Iraq.

“There was uncertainty about how long we were going to stay and how we were going to deal with the disorder there,” he said. At first, Chertoff explained, there was a sense that Iraq’s instability wasn’t America’s problem. But that became harder to maintain as the US settled in for what would become an eight-year mission.

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