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Iraq Guerilla War - Rumsfeld
In a minor reversal, Rumsfeld who said that we are not engaged in a guerilla war in Iraq now says we are. He must have asked Wolfowitz if he could redefine guerilla.
Source: AP, 2003-08-25
Candidate: Donald Rumsfeld
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld assured veterans Monday that U.S. commanders will have enough troops to combat guerrilla attacks in Iraq (news - web sites) after one of President Bush 's rivals said the administration had put American troops in "increased harm's way."
Appearing before several thousand delegates to the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, Rumsfeld and Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice defended the U.S.-led war against Iraq and said coalition forces can handle the resistance that has followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in April.
Earlier at the same podium, John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and one of nine Democrats seeking the party's nomination, said the administration's policies had failed U.S. troops in Iraq while neglecting soldiers who served in past wars.
The Massachusetts senator suggested that the administration had not heeded the lessons of Vietnam in its planning on Iraq.
"We learned that the interests of the grunts on the ground come before all politics and all ideology. And what we urgently need now to protect our young men and women in uniform — and America's role in the world — are decisions based on professional military judgments and strategic vision, not politics and pride," Kerry said.
"I believe a lack of planning and the lack of candor with the American people have placed our men and women in uniform in increased harm's way," he said.
Democrats and Republicans have been calling on the White House to either send more U.S. troops to Iraq or cede more military control to the United Nations (news - web sites) in return for allied forces.
Rumsfeld said the White House will make sure U.S. military commanders will have a sufficient number of troops in Iraq. He added, however, that Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, hasn't indicated more American troops are needed.
"If (Abizaid) believes additional troops are needed, he will have additional troops, let there be no doubt about it," Rumsfeld told the veterans.
About 150,000 American soldiers are in Iraq, with another 20,000 from Britain and other coalition countries. Roughly 50,000 Iraqis are working with the United States on security matters.
Dismissing the continued resistance, Rumsfeld labeled the guerrilla fighters "dead-enders" and compared them to bands of Nazis who fought on after World War II had ended. He also argued that the anti-American fighters from other Middle East nations streaming into Iraq to help Saddam's followers could prove to be a target for U.S. troops.
In an appearance later at Lackland Air Force Base, he said important progress has been made in Iraq. "There will continue to be some setbacks, I regret to say. But there will be more successes, and the outcome is not in doubt," he said.
Rice said the resistance to the U.S. presence was not surprising, because a democratic Iraq could influence other nations in the region.
"The terrorists know a free Iraq can change the face of the Middle East," said Rice, who was presented a distinguished service medal.
Kerry said that as president, he would get more allies involved in Iraq, raise pay for U.S. soldiers and ensure veterans the benefits they were long ago promised.
Kerry portrays himself as the one Democrat capable of neutralizing Bush's advantage on national security issues. Kerry served on a gunboat during the Vietnam War; Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard.
Two other Democratic rivals, Reps. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, told a Chicago audience that the administration lacks a clear exit strategy in Iraq.
"I think the president needs to get to the U.N., to get to NATO and to get us help," Gephardt said after a speech to the Communications Workers of America.
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