The CIA’s top intelligence official in Iraq has warned that the political, economic and security situation in Iraq is deteriorating and may not rebound any time soon. The New York Times reported the warning came in a classified cable sent last month. But the Bush administration appears to be downplaying the report even though it came from the CIA’s Baghdad station chief. In response to the memo, the US ambassador in Iraq, John Negroponte, filed a written dissent. He argued that the CIA’s assessment was too harsh.