'Mr Fernandez, an Arabic speaker who is director of public diplomacy in the state department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told Qatar-based al-Jazeera that the world was "witnessing failure in Iraq".
"That's not the failure of the United States alone, but it is a disaster for the region," he said.
"I think there is great room for strong criticism, because without doubt, there was arrogance and stupidity by the United States in Iraq."'
