Rumsfeld: US failing in Iraq

A leaked memo shows that the former Defence Secretary thinks a major change in strategy is needed, focusing on a staged pull-out of troops

Paul Harris

In a move that will send shockwaves through the White House a leaked memo from former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in which he admitted American failings in Iraq and called for a major change in policy, emerged yesterday.

The classified memo, obtained by the New York Times, revealed that the ultra-hawkish Rumsfeld believes that US forces in Iraq are not achieving their aims. He submitted the memo to the White House just two days before he resigned his post at the Pentagon.

In the memo Rumsfeld calls for a major change in US actions in Iraq. ‘In my view it is time for a major adjustment,’ he writes. ‘Clearly, what US forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough.’
Rumsfeld urged the White House to embark on a public relations course to lower expectations of what could be achieved in Iraq, saying US goals in the war-torn country should be talked about in ‘minimalist’ terms. Rumsfeld also wanted a reduction in US troops in the country and seemed to think the idea of sending more American soldiers into Baghdad to secure the capital was not a feasible option. He also attacked the Iraqis’ failings, saying they ‘must pull up their socks’, and wanted to use the threat of cutting off reconstruction aid in certain areas to discourage violence.

Some of his ideas - such as troop reductions and the criticism of tactics for Baghdad - seem to fly directly in the face of both his public statements of policy and the advice of the US military. In fact, his proposals often seem to have more in common with the thoughts of some Democratic party critics of the war.

Rumsfeld’s call for change will disturb White House officials on two levels. First, in public Rumsfeld has always been a strong advocate of the US commitment to Iraq and of staying the course. Second, it flies in the face of recent statements by President Bush that indicate he is unlikely to change strategy. That could mean Rumsfeld and Bush, formerly seen as close allies, are in fact starting to oppose each other.

Yesterday, news reports showed that few expect Bush to order dramatic changes in US policy even as Washington awaits the arrival of a policy report on Iraq. This week the Iraq Study Group, led by Bush family friend James Baker, will present its suggestions on how to end the war. The report has been widely leaked and is expected to contain a framework for a gradual withdrawal of US combat troops over a period of a year or more.

However, US officials from the State Department and the National Security Council have briefed Western diplomats that they do not expect US policy to change on core issues, no matter what the Baker survey recommends. At the briefing, details of which were reported in the Washington Post, officials stressed that Bush was determined not to succumb to outside pressure and would have the final say. They also said that US aims in the country remain the same: to create a stable, democratic US ally.

In his weekly radio address yesterday Bush vowed to work with Republicans and Democrats to hammer out Iraq policy. The Baker panel is made up of experts from a wide range of parties and political opinions. ‘I will work with leaders in both parties to achieve this goal,’ Bush said. The Baker panel had been seen as an opportunity to fundamentally shift US policy in Iraq and perhaps provide the necessary political cover for a comprehensive US withdrawal. But as its contents leaked into the media last week it became clear that the panel’s findings would lay a groundwork for only a small-scale shift in US military involvement.

The plan is expected to suggest that US combat forces be withdrawn from the Iraqi fighting by the start of 2008 - but only if Iraqi security forces are able to stand alone. Also, it is not clear if the US forces would just withdraw to bases inside Iraq or to a nearby country. Either way, the panel envisioned a force of perhaps 70,000 US troops still remaining with the Iraqi army to train and advise it and form a rapid reaction force. The panel is also expected to suggest that dialogue be opened with Iran and Syria on how best to stabilise Iraq.

In the meantime violence in the country continued. Three car bombs exploded in Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 38 people. Such atrocities have been commonplace over the past few months in Iraq.