Rumsfeld visits troops in Iraq
Army News Service
Release Date: 9/08/2003
By SPC Robert Woodward
MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Sept. 8, 2003) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited the Screaming Eagle soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division Sept. 5, addressing issues related to the progress of U.S. forces in Iraq and soldiers' morale.
Rumsfeld urged the American troops and local Iraqi leadership to regard attacks, or setbacks, as temporary obstacles in rebuilding Iraq. He also warned more dangers and hardships remain.
The visit was part of a daylong assessment of Iraq north of Baghdad, which began with a flight to Tikrit, where Saddam Hussein is suspected to be in hiding. Rumsfeld flew in low aboard a Black Hawk helicopter to see the site where Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, were killed July 22.
In Mosul, Rumsfeld met with Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the division's commander, who briefed on the unit's operations.
"Nobody loves an occupying army," Petraeus said during the visit. "But . they love ours as much as any has been loved."
After the briefing, Rumsfeld visited the Mosul city hall where he met with local Iraqi officials, including regional governor Ghanim Al Basso. They pressed Rumsfeld for help in speeding up the privatization of state-run businesses and the decentralization of power generally.
The secretary said historical control in Baghdad meant local people don't have grass roots political or entrepreneurial experience, but they have already shown an aptitude for self-government.
"This country has decades of doing things exactly the wrong way - nationally, governmentally owned and nationally controlled," he said. "It seems to me that when the Iraqi people have the opportunity to run things in a decentralized system, they will make sure their needs are met without relying on Baghdad for everything."
Before departing Mosul, Rumsfeld spoke to soldiers and fielded their questions, responding candidly to their concerns, including why Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction had not been found, and whether the size of the nation's armed forces should be increased to reduce the stress on soldiers.
The search for weapons of mass distruction has shifted to interrogating former weapons scientists because it was too time-consuming to systematically inspect the hundreds of possible hiding places.
"There isn't any way in a country this size to go out and find items that small," Rumsfeld said, adding that some of the scientists revealed they were told to bury things related to WMD in their backyards.
Anticipating war, Rumsfeld said the Iraqis buried jet aircraft to keep them from being destroyed, or falling into coalition hands.
"Now, who buries an airplane?" asked Rumsfeld, asserting the Ba'athist regime buried things it wanted to reclaim. Iraq lost many jet fighters during the first Persian Gulf War when pilots flew them to Iran rather than be shot down.
Rumsfeld said David Kay, a former U.N. weapons inspector who now heads the Iraq Survey Group, is still hunting the evidence.
"I have a feeling (the group) will continue to work the problem and over time produce the information that will respond to your question," Rumsfeld told one soldier.
Rumsfeld said he did not see a need for an overall boost in military personnel or to increase troops in Iraq, as the current requirements were temporary.
"We don't need to size the force to fit a spike (in missions) unless the spike is a permanent spike," Rumsfeld said, adding there is a number of other ways to decrease stress. "At present, the Joint Chiefs and Congress are looking at 25 to 30 ways to decrease stress without increasing end strength."
Rumsfeld was optimistic about the progress in Iraq, calling attention to the speed with which Iraq is moving toward democracy. He called Iraq "a model to the entire region."
"You've helped to free some 23 million people," he told the Screaming Eagles. "That's an enormous accomplishment I don't think you'll ever forget."
(Editor's note: Sgt. Robert Woodward is a 101st Airborne Division journalist.)
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