Rumsfeld admitted Iraq failings

Rumsfeld suggested reducing the number of US troops while increasing training for Iraqi forces

December 03, 2006

Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, admitted two days before he resigned that US policy in Iraq was failing and recommended scaling back American operations there, according to a leaked memo to the White House.

He said in the document the US strategy in Iraq was "not working well enough or fast enough" and "needed a major adjustment".

Rumsfeld noted that the US mission had changed from "major combat operations, to counterterrorism, to counter-insurgency, to dealing with death squads and sectarian violence".

The document also outlined possible large reductions in troops in Iraq and drastic alterations to their mission.

"Stay the course"

In the document, first obtained by The New York Times and later confirmed by the Pentagon, Rumsfeld also suggested positioning "substantial US forces" near the Iranian and Syrian borders, saying they would "reduce infiltration and, importantly, reduce Iranian influence on the Iraqi government".

The memorandum's contents conflict with Rumsfeld's frequent calls in public for the US to "stay the course" in Iraq.

He also recommends a reduction of US bases in the country from 55 now to five by July next year.

Rumsfeld also recommended buying support from prominent figures in Iraq, saying the US should "provide money to key political and religious leaders ... to get them to help us through this difficult period".

Critics said that this could be divisive in Iraq as it is the same policy that was used by Saddam Hussein.

Asked by Al Jazzera what he thought of Rumsfled's suggestion of buying support from various elemets in Iraq, Wamid Nazmi, a professor at Baghdad university, said: "I think all patriotic forces in this country would decline to receive money from the army of occupation, and as far as the government and militias are concerned, I feel they are rich enough from American financial support, Iranin financial support and the diplomatic and financial support they get form so-called moderate arab regimes."

"Drawing down"

Although he argues for keeping special forces troops in the country "to target al-Qaeda, death squads, and Iranians", Rumsfeld's memo suggests "drawing down all other coalition forces".

He suggested that the White House should "... Withdraw US forces from vulnerable positions - cities, patrolling, etc - and move US forces to a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) status, operating from within Iraq and Kuwait, to be available when Iraqi security forces need assistance".

While clarifying that the withdrawal should be only "modest," he said the number of US trainers and advisers working with the fledgling Iraqi forces should "significantly increase".

The outgoing defence secretary also advocated punishing "bad behaviour" by provincial governments by taking away their reconstruction funding and providing troops "only for those provinces or cities that openly request US help and that actively co-operate".

The White House has refused to say whether George Bush, the US president, has read Rumsfeld's writings, but Erin Witcher, a spokeswoman, said the president has been dissatisfied with the progress in Iraq, and "the right thing to do is to re-evaluate our tactics".

"There are a number of reviews under way, and the president is open to listening to a wide array of options," the spokeswoman said.

Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Rumsfeld does not endorse any one particular recommendation, and that he notes in the memo that "many of these options could and, in a number of cases, should be done in combination with others".

Media leaks

Lawrence Di Rita, who was Rumsfeld's chief spokesman until last spring, said that the broad range of options presented by Rumsfeld belies the notion that he is inflexible and reluctant to consider alternative approaches.

"I see this thing as classic Rumsfeld," Di Rita said. "This is the way he operates."

Rumsfeld remains defence secretary while Robert Gates, a former CIA director nominated for the position by Bush, is seeking senate confirmation for his position.

There is no hint in the memo that he intended to step down, but a person familiar with the sequence of events leading up to his resignation on November 8 told the Associated Press news agency that Rumsfeld knew when he wrote it that he would be leaving.

The Rumsfeld memorandum is the second sensitive government document expressing dissatisfaction with the current course in Iraq to be leaked to the media in less than a week.

Last week, The New York Times published a White House memo in which Stephen Hadley, the US national security adviser, expressed doubt about the ability of Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to control sectarian violence.

Source: Al Jazeera

Link:

Bush Adviser Tries to Cool Expectations for Iraq Study