WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., blamed the Bush administration's "dangerous incompetence" for the difficulty in securing the peace in Iraq.
Feinstein, delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address, said the Iraqis need to take over primary responsibility for the country's security this year "so our troops can be responsibly redeployed."
U.S. President George W. Bush has said Iraqi forces should be in control over most of the country by the end of the year. Feinstein said this decision was a "welcomed departure from an administration that has blindly insisted on 'staying the course.'"
Bush has also said that conditions on the ground in Iraq will dictate U.S. military redeployments -- not "arbitrary deadlines" set by Washington politicians.
Feinstein said Bush needs to exercise leadership to bring the political factions in Iraq together to form a unity government to overcome previous problems.
"Even administration officials acknowledge that we've made little progress on the political, security and reconstruction fronts," Feinstein said.
"It didn't have to be this way, but the administration's dangerous incompetence has made the job harder."
