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US forces to stay 'as long as it takes'

May 11 2003
By Robert Schlesinger

United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday that it was impossible to know whether rebuilding Iraq would require US troops to stay longer than a year. The Bush Administration was prepared for the forces to remain "as long as it takes to create a secure and permissive environment" for reconstruction.

Mr Rumsfeld's comments came on the day the US introduced a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council that would make official the US and British role in Iraq as "occupying powers". The resolution, which is likely to be opposed by some council members, would put Washington and London in charge of Iraq for at least a year and automatically extend their role after 12 months unless the council voted otherwise.

But Mr Rumsfeld, appearing with General Tommy Franks, head of allied forces in the region, dismissed the suggestion that the time frame proposed in the resolution indicated exactly how long allied troops would remain. He said a year out would be a logical time to assess progress.

"I suspect that if someone's mentioning a year, it's probably just a review period because anyone who thinks they know how long it's going to take is fooling themselves," he said. "It's not knowable."

At the same time, the Defence Secretary acknowledged that Iraq's transition and the US-British occupation would not be quick. "The reality is that it is a very difficult transition from despotism and repression to a freer system," Mr Rumsfeld said.

"There'll be bumps along the way. And it strikes me that what it requires is for people to be realistic; to look at other countries that have made that transition and ask how was that done, how long did it take, how difficult was it, how untidy was it? And recognise that this country does not have a history of representative or democratic systems; it's going to take some time and it's going to take some patience."

Mr Rumsfeld's comments were in keeping with his previous remarks on the subject. Since before the war, he has consistently declined to give specific estimates as to how long the occupation of Iraq will last or how large an occupying force will be necessary. But he said that the US did not plan on having a long-term military presence in the country.

At the Pentagon briefing last Friday, Mr Rumsfeld and General Franks said the coalition force would be a mix of troops from the US and other nations.

Mr Rumsfeld said "a large number of countries" had volunteered to provide troops to help maintain stability in Iraq. He said that "a minority" would wait for passage of a UN resolution before committing troops.

• Three American soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed during the rescue of an Iraqi child wounded in an explosion, US military officials said.

• Iraq's top Shiite leader, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim, returned home yesterday after 23 years' exile in Iran. The 64-year-old head of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was met by thousands of jubilant supporters.

- New York Times



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