Rumsfeld: We Can't Know How Many Troops Needed In Iraq
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2003 – The number of American and
British forces needed to secure Iraq in the long and short
term is "not knowable," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
said in London today.
Rumsfeld met with British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon
during a short stop in London following a weeklong tour
through the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. The two held a
press conference at Heathrow Airport just before Rumsfeld
departed for Washington.
"What we do know is we'll have as many forces in the
country as is necessary to see that it is a sufficiently
secure and permissive environment so that the humanitarian
and reconstruction work can go forward," Rumsfeld said,
"and so that the Iraqi people can fashion some sort of
interim governmental authority, and then, ultimately, a
final authority."
The number of troops necessary depends on "so many
variables" that have yet to be determined, the secretary
said, adding that he hopes the stabilization mission will
be accomplished by a broad coalition.
At some point, he said, international officials will be
discussing what role the United Nations plays in post-war
Iraq. "Personally, I'm hopeful they do play a role," he
said.
Rumsfeld echoed some points President Bush made during his
speech May 1 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham
Lincoln, most notably that Iraq remains a dangerous place.
"It would be a terrible mistake to think that Iraq is a
fully secure, fully pacified environment," Rumsfeld said.
"It is not. It is dangerous. There are people who are
rolling hand grenades into compounds. There are people that
are shooting at people, and it's not finished."
Iraqis attacked American soldiers in the northern city of
Fallujah May 1, injuring seven American soldiers. In
addition, roughly a dozen incidents of shots exchanged
between Iraqis and American forces have occurred in various
locations around Iraq in the past week.
Hoon noted that efforts to find weapons of mass destruction
within Iraq are "continuing as we speak." He said Saddam
Hussein had made determined efforts throughout the years-
long U.N. inspection process to dismantle and hide such
weapons and their components.
"We've always made clear that the effort to locate and
precisely identify weapons of mass destruction would take
some time," he said.
Hoon also said he doesn't know if Saddam Hussein is dead or
alive, but that efforts to determine his whereabouts and
condition continue. "We are continuing to look for all
those who were engaged in what we judge to be criminal
activities on behalf of (Hussein's) regime," the minister
said.
During their meeting, Hoon said, the two men discussed
rebuilding efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. "They both
have to be restored as cooperative members of the
international community," he said.
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