Iraqi govt a failure

Ex-top envoy calls Iraqi government a failure

Former ambassador says country 'falling apart,' blames ministers, U.S.  (thanks Datta)

Indiana University

Feisal Amin Istrabadi, a U.S.-born Iraqi, served the last three years as Iraq's deputy ambassador to the United Nations.

EXCLUSIVE

By Aram Roston

Investigative producer

NBC News Investigative Unit

Updated: 2:46 p.m. ET Oct 19, 2007

WASHINGTON - A principal architect of Iraq's interim constitution, who resigned in August as one of the country's top diplomats, has laid out a devastating critique of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the U.S. occupation, telling NBC News that, functionally, "there is no Iraqi government."

The diplomat, Feisal Amin Istrabadi, said in his first interview since stepping down as Iraq's deputy ambassador to the United Nations that "this government has got to go."

When he resigned, Istrabadi, a U.S.-born lawyer who lobbied for the U.S. invasion and was the principal legal drafter of Iraq's interim constitution, said he was leaving because it was time for fresh ideas after having served three years at the United Nations. continued