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New Iraqi PM Not Ashamed of CIA Links
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - New Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Wednesday he was not ashamed of having worked with the CIA and other intelligence agencies as head of an exiled group trying to destabilize Saddam Hussein's regime.

``I was the head of a political organization in touch with at least 15 intelligence services across the world and in the region,'' Allawi said after a cabinet meeting. ``We don't feel ashamed of having been in touch to liberate Iraq from the evil forces of Saddam.''

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Allawi's group, the Iraqi National Accord, sent agents into Baghdad in the early 1990s to plant bombs and sabotage government facilities.

It cited former intelligence officials as saying they used car bombs and other explosive devices smuggled into Baghdad from northern Iraq. The bombings, whose effectiveness is disputed, never threatened Saddam's rule, they said.

Allawi did not comment directly on the bombings, which the former Iraqi government claimed caused many civilian casualties, but said he had actively worked to shake the former regime....