Rumsfeld, Franks get enthusiastic welcome from troops
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Rumsfeld, right, and Gen. Tommy Franks answer reporters' questions in Abu Dhabi.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld thanked the troops and basked in their military success during a town meeting in Qatar. CNN's Barbara Starr reports (April 28)
CNN's Barbara Starr reports U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is reassuring UAE leaders that U.S. troops would leave Iraq as soon as possible.
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DOHA, Qatar (CNN) -- Enthusiastic troops gave Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld a rousing welcome at Camp Doha on Monday morning, as he described their "remarkable achievement" in seizing Iraq from Saddam Hussein.
"What all of you have accomplished will certainly go down in the history books," he told the crowd, which also included some civilians and defense contractors.
"You helped rescue a nation and liberate a people, you have driven a repressive regime from power, ended a threat to free people everywhere, protected our country from a gathering danger and given the Iraqi people a chance to be a free nation and have normal lives," he said.
The defense secretary, who is touring the region with Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, said thanking the troops is his primary goal. But he also plans to discuss with the leaders of several nations the process of developing an Iraqi interim authority, then a government.
While his itinerary is being kept secret, defense officials have said Rumsfeld will also stop in Iraq.
"The Iraqis will have a new government. It will be a government of their choosing, because of all of you," Franks said. He thanked the troops for helping many Iraqis obtain fresh water, food assistance, medical care and electricity.
"To be sure, there is a great deal of work yet to be done," Franks said.
Saddam's regime collapsed April 9 as U.S. troops advanced into Baghdad from two directions. The air attacks on Baghdad began March 19.
Rumsfeld praised the troops -- representing all armed services -- for turning many problems into advantages.
He said that while Turkey's decision to block U.S. troops from entering northern Iraq from Turkey was disappointing, he believed it led the Iraqis to believe that coalition troops wouldn't attack until a northern front was obtained.
Instead, coalition troops entered Iraq from the south, and ships loaded with military hardware and other supplies remained in the Mediterranean.
The lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime was ousted, will help the U.S. military train, equip and organize more effectively, Rumsfeld said.
"With the liberation of Iraq, you have transformed a country -- but how you did it will help transform how we defend our country in the 21st century," he told the troops.
