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Rumsfeld predicts 'long, hard slog' in IraqPanel calls for U.N. security overhaul in Baghdad
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be "a long, hard slog" and the United States lacks good measures of its progress in the war on terrorism, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told top aides in a memo published Wednesday. The memo, dated October 16, asked a handful of top military and civilian Department of Defense officials to consider several questions about the progress of the war. It said U.S. forces are having "mixed results" in the battle against al Qaeda and that U.S. forces "lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror." "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas [Islamic fundamentalist schools] and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?" Rumsfeld asked. He elaborated on that point during a news conference Wednesday after briefing senators on the Iraq situation. "How many young people are being taught to go out as suicide bombers and kill people?" Rumsfeld told reporters. "How does that inflow of terrorists in the world get reduced so that the number of people being captured or killed is greater than the ones being produced?" In the memo, Rumsfeld cited "reasonable progress" in capturing or killing the 55 most-wanted Iraqis but "somewhat slower progress" tracking down the Taliban in Afghanistan. "It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog," Rumsfeld wrote. Although much of the memo reiterates what Rumsfeld has said publicly, it does provide insight into his management style and reflects some dissatisfaction with the progress in the war on terror. (Full story) At one point, the memo questions whether "a new institution" should be created to coordinate the effort. "Does DoD [the Department of Defense] need to think through new ways to organize, train, equip and focus to deal with the global war on terror?" the memo asked. "Are the changes we have [made] and are making too modest and incremental? My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?" Rumsfeld spokesman Larry DiRita said the memo -- first published by USA Today -- was just Rumsfeld's way of lighting a fire under his top deputies to come up with better ideas for moving ahead. "It's what he does. He injects urgency, he asks questions and he gets people thinking about things and that's what this memo, hopefully, will do. It appears to have had that effect," DiRita said. Rumsfeld's staff described the document as a "snowflake" -- coming from top management and floating downward -- a type of memo Rumsfeld routinely sends to challenge people to think more creatively. Critics jumped on the memo. "I think Secretary Rumsfeld's comments are an illustration of the concern that they have about the failure of their policies in Iraq so far," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota. But Democratic Rep. Jim Turner of Texas, who was among a half-dozen members of Congress just back from Iraq who met with Rumsfeld Wednesday morning and were shown the memo, said he thought it had been "mischaracterized." "This is a document that's designed to provoke longer-range thinking on the part of the leadership here. It's the kind of questions that I'm glad to see that are being asked in the administration," Turner said. U.N. report: Dysfunctional securityAn investigation into the August bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Iraq calls for reforms in the way the international body handles security in Baghdad, saying its security system was dysfunctional at the time of the attack that killed 22 people and wounded more than 150 others. In a report issued Monday, a panel appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said "security awareness ... did not match the hostile environment." While admitting that the attack may not have been preventable, the panel's report said: "Adequate security arrangements ... would certainly have minimized the vulnerability of the staff and premises and reduced the number of casualties caused by the attack." The panel recommended that new security arrangements be in place ahead of the return to Baghdad of U.N. staff members, most of whom were moved out of country after the bombing. Attacks increaseIn Baghdad, the U.S. ground forces commander said Wednesday troops have seen a spike in attacks.
"I think clearly the number of wounded, also the number of engagements over the past three weeks, have been a little bit higher than we've seen before," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said. "We've seen an average number of [daily] engagements between 20 and 25. We've seen a spike up to 35 in [the] last three weeks." That's up from an average of between 15 and 20, Sanchez said. Sanchez said an increase was expected after the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to the western province of Al Anbar. It was unclear whether the rise was due to U.S. opposition or the result of more missions. Five U.S. soldiers were wounded Wednesday by makeshift bombs in attacks on military convoys in Baghdad and near Fallujah, west of the Iraqi capital. All suffered only minor wounds and returned to duty after treatment. Other developments
• House majority whip Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said Republicans would stand behind the White House when the time comes to vote on the final Iraq aid bill, despite growing support for turning half the $20 billion package into loans. Bush has threatened to veto the bill if it includes loans. (Full story) • Representatives from at least 58 countries plan to attend the Iraq donors' conference that opens Thursday in Madrid, Spain. The United States is seeking to raise billions of dollars in pledges at the two-day conference. (Full story) CNN's Jane Arraf, Al Goodman, Barbara Starr, Harris Whitbeck and Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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