12 December 2002
Rumsfeld says U.S.-Qatar agreement "is not connected to Iraq"
(Says diplomatic efforts continue to pressure N. Korea on obligations) (1020) Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters in Doha December 12 that the U.S.-Qatar bilateral defense agreement that has been signed "is not connected to Iraq." Instead, he said, it is an agreement that has been under discussion for weeks and months and is simply an example of "defense cooperation between our two countries." Speaking during a media availability alongside Prime Minister Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, Rumsfeld described the new agreement as "a good one and one that we're very pleased with." The defense secretary described the implementing agreement as one that will enable long-term strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Qatar to be strengthened and one that will facilitate the implementation of some military upgrades in Qatar that will benefit both countries. Pressed for more specifics, Rumsfeld said it "will improve our mutual readiness and military capabilities, . permit a variety of upgrades [including quality of life and] .provide state-of-the-art capabilities for the forces here in the country." Rumsfeld was in Qatar to take a first hand look at a military computer exercise taking place there known as "Exercise Internal Look." It involved, among other things, deploying a mobile headquarters command post into Qatar (where it will remain), training with it, and testing it in an effort to boost military readiness. Several coalition members are involved to one degree or another in the exercise. Rumsfeld was briefed on its operation by the commander of the U.S. Central Command Tommy Franks, who is responsible for ongoing operations in Afghanistan and for coalition flights over southern Iraq. Moving his command post from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida to Qatar has, in Franks' words, "given us an opportunity to pack up this brand new set of technology, which is absolutely cutting edge . and move it several thousand miles, set it up again, and then train ourselves on how to use that." While only four days into the exercise (it will conclude on December 17), he said: "I like what we see . the reaction of our people to the technology, and . the performance of the technology." During his media appearance, Rumsfeld was asked about the U.S. position on North Korea now that it has signaled an end to its freeze on nuclear power plants. While indicating that he has no idea what will transpire next, he also said he expects that the diplomatic effort to pressure the North Koreans to fulfill their international obligations will continue. He described the North Korean regime as "strange" because its representatives met recently with U.S. officials and told them they were not pursuing activities related to highly enriched uranium. "They then went to bed and come back the next morning and said we do have them," the defense secretary said, "So you have a behavior pattern that . has to be noted as somewhat unusual." Commenting on the broad coalition formed to combat terrorism globally, Rumsfeld pointed to Qatar as having made significant contributions and he said "we value that." With respect to U.S. overtures for coalition assistance should force be needed against Iraq, the defense secretary said: "We have gone out to countries across the globe and asked for their support in the event that it becomes necessary to have a coalition of countries disarm Iraq. And the response has been excellent. The numbers of countries coming in and offering assistance is very encouraging." One reporter tried to suggest that the U.S., by mobilizing military forces in the region, is ignoring U.N. resolutions and efforts on Iraq. "How could you even ask that question when it was the Iraqi regime that ignored 16 resolutions of the United Nations over a period of many, many years," Rumsfeld asked? "Second," he replied, "how could you even ask that question given the fact that it was the United States that went to the United Nations and received a unanimous vote in the Security Council? No[t] one vote opposing it. So the question that is premised that the United States is ignoring the United Nations is obviously misplaced." The defense secretary was also asked how he could justify the fact that the U.S. received a copy of Iraq's declaration on weapons of mass destruction before the rest of the permanent members (P-5) of the U.N. Security Council. "My understanding is that the United Nations made a decision that they needed to reproduce the declaration, and they asked the United States to reproduce it. The United States did that. And then all of the P-5 countries received the document at the same time," Rumsfeld said. Asked about Iraq's declaration, the defense secretary said: "People are poring over this declaration to see what it says, what they (the Iraqis) have acknowledged, and the extent to which they have decided to cooperate with the United Nations. And at some point . nations will be able to make a judgment as to whether or not they believe Iraq is being cooperative with the United Nations." In the U.S., he said, an interagency committee is examining the materials the Iraqis provided and he suggested it may be possible to determine within days whether the document "represents a degree of cooperation or whether it's another example of a lack of cooperation." Rumsfeld, who was a special envoy to the Middle East during the Reagan administration, was also asked about meetings he had with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the 1980s. Following a terrorist attack against the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the defense secretary said he was asked by President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz to take a temporary leave of absence from his business and assist "for a period of months with respect to the problems in the Middle East." Rumsfeld said he met a couple of times with Saddam Hussein to see if Iraq "could be at all helpful in our efforts in the Middle East with respect to terrorism." He went on to say that he had nothing to do with helping Iraq against Iran. While the U.S. did provide some intelligence information to Iraq, the defense secretary said he was already back in the private sector by the time that occurred. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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