21 October 2003
Rumsfeld Lauds Performance of Iraqi Security Forces
Defense Department Report, October 21: Iraq Operational Update
U.S. congressional support of the supplemental funding request for Iraq and the unanimous vote in the U.N. Security Council for Resolution 1511 "represent strong bipartisan and international support for the coalition's mission in Iraq," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters October 21 at the Pentagon.
Noting that the bulk of the 132,000 U.S. troops would rotate out during the first half of next year, with plans for their replacements currently underway, Rumsfeld said that the goal over time is "to adjust the U.S. footprint in Iraq and increasingly pass responsibility for security and governance of the country to the people of Iraq." To that end the coalition forces have trained over 85,000 Iraqi forces, he pointed out.
Currently, Iraq represents the second largest contributor of personnel to the coalition forces, Rumsfeld said, and Iraqi security forces have already proven their capability in many ways. "[T]he newly formed Facilities Protection Service has distinguished itself ... in stopping the attack on the Baghdad Hotel before it could do still greater damage, and another new organization, the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, distinguished itself in An Najaf last evening," he said.
Rumsfeld and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace, who joined him at the briefing, both emphasized that U.S. troop rotations next year will be driven by the security situation on the ground and not by timelines for force reductions. "We're committed to staying [in Iraq] as long as necessary, with as many forces as necessary, to successfully complete the mission," Rumsfeld said. The rotation plan is designed to be flexible to adapt both to security changes in Iraq and coalition troop levels.
When asked about the remarks of Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, who had been quoted as casting the war on terrorism in religious terms, Rumsfeld reiterated that both he and the president recognize that the war on terrorism is not a war against a religion. He said Boykin's remarks will come under review of an inspector general.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=October&x=20031021180609alretnuh0.8305628&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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