07 February 2006
Rumsfeld Says U.S. Must See Iraq Mission Through to Completion
Secretary tells Senate committee conflict is not East-West but intra-Muslim
By David Anthony Denny
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The global War on Terror is not a conflict between Islam and the West, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says, but rather an intra-Muslim clash between moderates and extremists.
"The enemy would like to define this war as a conflict between Islam and the West, but it is not," Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee February 7. "The vast majority of Muslims do not share the violent ideology of al-Qaida. … [They] do not want the extremists to win, and many are opposing them at every opportunity," he said.
Marine General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the committee, "We are involved in a long war against an enemy that is ruthless, adaptive and patient, and they are trying to destroy the resolve of the American people through gradual attrition. Iraq is certainly … the center of gravity in this war on terrorism."
Rumsfeld said, "If America has the patience and the will to see this noble and necessary mission to completion -- and we must -- Iraq can emerge as a nation with a representative government, at peace with its neighbors, and one that can become an ally in the global War on Terror."
Explaining the rationale for the fiscal year 2007 defense budget, Rumsfeld said it is impossible to defend the United States at every moment of every day from every conceivable method and mode of attack.
"The only way to protect the American people, therefore, is to … focus on developing a range of capabilities, rather than preparing to confront any one threat," said Rumsfeld. "And this approach … has governed decisions made in developing both the president's budget and the Quadrennial Defense Review," he added. (See related article.)
Although the Defense Department remains prepared to fight conventional wars, Rumsfeld said, "We've shifted … to a greater emphasis on fighting unconventional, or irregular, or asymmetric wars against terrorist cells or enemy guerrillas." That is why Special Forces Operations will have doubled since 2001, and will include a Marine Corps component for the first time, he said.
Further, the role and importance of intelligence is being shifted, the secretary said. "In the future, we must be better in ascertaining where the enemy is going next, rather than simply where the enemy was. … And this means upgrading U.S. intelligence capabilities -- both human and technological -- and more effectively linking technology to operations in real time in the field," he said.
Committee Chairman John Warner of Virginia voiced concern about "the increasing level of corruption and criminality in Iraq, and the difficulty that our coalition forces are finding in performing military missions in the face of this very significant corruption and criminality."
In reply, Rumsfeld agreed that corruption is a problem, but said, "I don't know that it's on the increase. What's on the increase is our awareness of corruption.
"It's true that violence, corruption and criminality continue to pose challenges in Iraq," Rumsfeld said. "There has been, historically, corruption in that country. And it is something that is so corrosive of democracy that I quite agree with you that it's critically important that it be attacked, and that the new leadership in that country be measured against their commitment to attacking corruption."
Ranking minority member Carl Levin of Michigan noted that critics have called the new Iraqi Constitution "a divisive document." He then read a quote of President Bush praising the constitution on December 12, 2005, and added, "The president's effusive praise is the wrong message because it lessens the likelihood that the compromises necessary to change the constitution will be made."
In reply, Rumsfeld said that the Iraqi Constitution is "not perfect … nor was ours."
"Our Constitution still permitted slavery, and women couldn't vote," Rumsfeld noted. "So it strikes me that they have some work to do, just as we had work to do, and I'm encouraged that they'll accomplish that work."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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