Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says life without Saddam Hussein "is not a distant dream" for the Iraqi people.

"The circle is closing" around the leaders of the Iraqi regime as their options run out, Rumsfeld told an April 7 Pentagon briefing. Saddam Hussein's regime is collapsing around him, Rumsfeld said, as his military forces continue to surrender to the coalition.

Coalition forces will not end their effort to liberate Iraq, he said, "until they ... remove Saddam Hussein from power and give Iraq back to the Iraqi people."

In a message aimed at the Iraqi people, he said, "We share your aspirations for an Iraq that is free of tyranny, and will help to prepare for an early and smooth transition from Saddam Hussein's rule to a new Iraqi government, chosen by the Iraqi people, that no longer threatens its neighbors or the world."
British forces now control much of the city of Basra, the secretary said, and those who once suffered at the hand of Saddam Hussein's cousin, Hassan al-Majid, will never be terrorized again. Otherwise known as "Chemical Ali," for authorizing a chemical weapons attack against the northern Iraqi city of Halajba in 1988, al-Majid has more recently been focusing his attention on southern Iraq, where he was reported killed on April 7 in an air strike on one of his homes is Basra.

Rumsfeld said it is believed now that the reign of terror promulgated by "Chemical Ali," who was in charge of the Iraqi military occupation of Kuwait in 1990-1991, has ended. Human Rights Watch describes al-Majid as a "hatchet man."

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers, who accompanied Rumsfeld for an operational update on Iraq, said Iraqi citizens have been helpful in pointing out remaining hideouts of elements of the Baath Party and Fedayeen Saddam. They also are helping the coalition locate weapons caches, he said.

In evidence of further "Operation Iraqi Freedom" progress, the Air Force general said coalition forces have secured most of the roads in and out of Baghdad. He said coalition missions are being launched from the captured and recently renamed Baghdad International Airport.

Myers characterized fighting by Iraq's Republican Guard as "sporadic" and not terribly coherent. He described the fighting spirit of the Special Republic Guards and the Special Security Guards as being a bit greater. The chairman also said that of Iraq's 800-plus tanks only a couple of dozen remain available for combat.

Asked about the message being sent to Iraq's leadership by the recent forays by coalition forces into two of Saddam Hussein's palaces, Myers said that when presidential palaces are entered at will it is an indication to the people and regime leaders that the regime is history. Such entries are also useful, he said, for clues about the location of leaders or information that might lead to Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Asked if the coalition has addressed the issue of establishing a reliable and secure "chain of custody" for handling evidence of WMD, Rumsfeld said it exists to the extent possible in a combat environment. Asked about press reports of a new WMD discovery, the secretary said it is too early to speculate since it may take days to study the samples and to double-check the analysis.

Asked about planning for a future government in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, Rumsfeld said the United States is not going to impose a government on Iraq. When they are able to speak up freely, he said, the Iraqi people will make the necessary decisions about their future government. Many groups of Iraqis "need a voice at the table," the secretary said, including those who are located in recently liberated areas as well as those who may still be outside the country in exile.

Asked if the arrival of the previously London-based Iraqi exile leader Ahmed Chalabi and several hundred Iraqi followers in southern Iraq on April 6 portends a broad role for him in a future Iraq, Rumsfeld answered: "I wouldn't think so." The Iraqi people are going "to sort out" what a future government will look like, he said.

The secretary said there are more than six groups the coalition has been working with, including Kurds and Shia, in the effort to end Saddam Hussein's reign. They can be helpful in various ways, he said, including combat support.

Asked about the roles of various U.S. government agencies in Iraq at the present and in the near future, Rumsfeld said there is a great deal of work to be accomplished. He indicated that the departments of Agriculture, Interior, State and Defense are all working toward that end. Representatives of agencies have been sorting out tasks to be undertaken while waiting to enter Iraq from Kuwait, the secretary said.

The role of former U.S. Army General Jay Garner in Iraq will be confined to civil administration, according to Rumsfeld, to include establishing a new Iraqi government and ensuring that humanitarian assistance is distributed in an effective manner. Garner will be involved in non-security issues, the secretary emphasized, and not stabilization functions.

Garner, who worked to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict, is now in charge of the Defense Department's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq. Rumsfeld indicated that Garner and his staff are either already in Iraq or "en route."