U.S. Can Help, But Iraqis Need To Provide Their Security, Rumsfeld Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
SKOPJE, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Oct. 11, 2004 -- After a
whirlwind, daylong tour of Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived
here Oct. 10 for next-day meetings with Macedonian government and military
officials.
Earlier in the day the secretary had visited U.S., coalition and Iraqi troops
at Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Irbil.
Rumsfeld pointed out to U.S. and Iraqi military leaders in Kirkuk that without
adequate security, Iraqi sovereignty "isn't sovereignty."
U.S. and coalition forces, Rumsfeld noted at Kirkuk, can assist Iraqis in
establishing security across their country. "But," the secretary told the
Iraqis, "you have to do it."
After meeting with about 2,000 Marines and other U.S. servicemembers at a town
hall at Al Asad, Rumsfeld flew east to Baghdad to confer with senior U.S.,
coalition, and Iraqi military and government officials.
Right now, he noted to reporters in Baghdad after attending senior-level
meetings, U.S., coalition and Iraqi officials are concentrating on measures to
ensure that the January elections are successful.
The secretary then departed Baghdad for the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a
key area of the country that features oil and wheat, barley and corn farming.
At a U.S. military facility in Kirkuk, Rumsfeld met with senior American
military leaders and local Iraqi security forces heads.
Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste and other U.S. and Iraqi leaders briefed Rumsfeld
on the situation in Kirkuk, which the general characterized as becoming more
stable each day. Batiste described the successful joint U.S.-Iraqi military
campaign launched Oct. 1 that defeated anti-coalition insurgents in Samarra,
located south between Kirkuk and Baghdad.
The Samarra operation, Batiste noted, was a model of U.S.-Iraqi military
cooperation and planning. About 5,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were involved in
the campaign that reclaimed the city from the enemy. "We had unity of command,"
Batiste said.
The United States is providing $13.5 million for rebuilding Samarra, which will
be used for reconstruction projects and "to get people back to work," he said.
Batiste praised "the great work" accomplished by Iraqi National Guard and
police forces during the Samarra operation. Rumsfeld concurred, noting that the
Iraqis' performance in Samarra "has been impressive."
At Kirkuk, Rumsfeld also got to see some insurgent weaponry and gear, such as
crudely made metal body armor, makeshift bombs, and a hand-made bazooka
fabricated from a large pipe. Bastiste noted that his forces in the area had
confiscated 24 million pounds of enemy ammunition in the past eight months.
Kirkuk security officials noted they'd recently broken up a kidnapping-for-
ransom ring that had specialized in abducting local children.
Leaving Kirkuk, Rumsfeld and his group flew further north to Irbil to meet with
Republic of Korea troops. The Koreans gave Rumsfeld a series of resounding
cheers when the secretary arrived inside a large field dining facility. About
3,700 South Korean forces are deployed in Iraq.
Rumsfeld thanked the South Korean troops for their work in Iraq, noting that
most had volunteered for the duty. The relationship between the U.S. and
Republic of Korea armed forces, Rumsfeld remarked, is "an alliance that was
forged in blood and sacrifice" more than 50 years ago during the Korean War.
The secretary compared the struggle against insurgents in Iraq to the time when
the United States and other nations helped South Korea repel invading communist
North Korean forces.
Today, South Korea enjoys democracy and a robust economy, Rumsfeld noted, while
above the Demilitarized Zone the North Korean people suffer famine and other
deprivations under a despotic regime.
"In a very real sense," Rumsfeld told the South Korean troops, "the Korean
Peninsula symbolizes why you're here and why we are trying to help the Iraqi
people build a free society."
Biography:
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
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