Rumsfeld drops in on Iraq

2005-02-11 21:57

Baghdad - US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Iraq on Friday, hailing the elections as a major accomplishment and stressing the growing role of Iraqi forces who will eventually take over from US troops.

Rumsfeld, the highest-ranking US official to visit the war-torn country since the historic January 30 polls, met with Washington's staunchest ally in Iraq, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

"It has been a stunning accomplishment and that is appreciated in the United States and in Europe and across the globe to see the Iraqi people come out by the millions and cast their votes and participate in putting this country on the path towards freedom and democracy," he said.

Allawi only said he had a "very fruitful discussion" with Rumsfeld, who left Iraq late in the afternoon.

He kicked off his whirlwind visit in the northern city of Mosul stressing that developing competent Iraqi forces would take time but was crucial to the country's future.

"Because it is the Iraqis who are going to have to, over time, defeat the insurgents," he told several hundred US and Iraqi soldiers. "It is their country. It is their responsibility.

"Once they have that confidence and that capacity and capability our forces, coalition forces will have to go home. And go home with the honour you will have earned," he said.

In Baghdad, Rumsfeld met with the top US commanders, General John Abizaid and General George Casey.

Casey said there was "general agreement that what we want to do is work this year to begin the transition of the counter-insurgency effort to the Iraqi security forces."

He said plans call for embedding between 2 000 and 3 000 US military advisory teams with Iraqi units to improve their performance and raise their confidence.

Abizaid said 2005 would be an important year of transition throughout the Central Command's theatre of operations, which also includes Afghanistan.

"Here in Iraq you'll see Iraqi forces taking more responsibility," he said. "So in the theatre we have a awful lot of opportunity to reshape the force, help the nations across the region help themselves."

Rumsfeld expressed hope that an improving security situation will eventually allow a reduction in US forces.

"I sense that the coalition effort is well organised, focused and that the professionalism of these units is advancing," he said.

Rumsfeld said Iraq needed more units capable of "intimidating the intimidators".

At the US military headquarters at Mosul, Rumsfeld peppered local security officials with questions about the elections.

In Mosul, a city of over 1.5 million, only about 200 000 people voted because fears of attack initially kept people away. Voting materials were also not delivered to all polls.

"The big surprise is that people Mosul participated," one of the Iraqi officials told Rumsfeld.

"That was a big challenge for the terrorists," the official said.

- AFP