New York, Oct 08: Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said yesterday he believes US President George W Bush had a "hidden agenda" in invading Iraq and had been less than forthright in explaining his reasons for the attack. "I do believe there is some other agenda, other than weapons and Saddam Hussein," Gorbachev told a news conference at an environmental meeting held at the city University of New York. "What kind of hidden agenda, well that needs to be understood."

Gorbachev said he never had any doubt that the United States would prevail in the war in Iraq. The current Russian President, Vladimir Putin, also opposed the US-led war in Iraq. He has warned that the US faces the possibility of a prolonged and futile war there similar to the one that the soviets fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Since the fall of Baghdad in April, the US has faced strong resistance to its efforts to bring order and stability to the country. Gorbachev, who heads green cross international, an environmental group dedicated to preserving fresh water and eliminating weapons of mass destruction, criticized the US action as based on a "new national strategy" that calls for acting unilaterally against perceived threats.

"The right way to go was what we did against Iraq's aggression against Kuwait," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "We all united and worked together." Bureau Report