U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will visit with some of the 6,000 or more U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the South Asian region beginning April 25, a senior Pentagon official says.

Rumsfeld will also visit coalition partners in the region, in part to thank them for their continued support, but also to discuss ongoing operations, said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Victoria Clarke at a regular Pentagon briefing.

"Circumstances change, conditions change, and he wants to constantly be managing those relationships," Clarke said April 24.

Clarke said that details of the trip are still being completed and further announcements will be made as the trip proceeds. Rumsfeld will return to Washington April 29.

Before he leaves for Afghanistan, Rumsfeld will go to Houston April 24 to meet with Vice President Dick Cheney and to participate in preparations for the visit of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to the Texas White House in Crawford, she said.