Washington – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denied Thursday that the American- led occupation in Iraq has become a quagmire. But a top Army general seated next to him at a Senate hearing said that the Iraqi insurgency is not weakening.
“Anyone who says we have lost the war or are losing the war is wrong,” Rumsfeld said. He also rejected the idea, backed by a small bipartisan group of lawmakers, of setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops, saying that “would throw a lifeline to terrorists who in recent months have suffered significant losses in casualties, been denied havens and suffered weakened popular support.”
During a day of contentious hearings in the Senate and House, Rumsfeld disputed assertions that the U.S. campaign is faltering and argued that the conflict there remains worth its cost in lives and dollars. He said he favored pressing Iraqi authorities to keep to their timetable this year for a new constitution and national elections.
“Any who say we have lost or are losing are flat wrong,” he declared. “We are not.”
The defense chief’s defiant stance was echoed by visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who will meet with President Bush today. Setting a specific date for U.S. withdrawal “would be walking into the enemy,” he said in an interview.
But lawmakers in both parties, citing continued violence in Iraq and uncertainty about when the conflict will end, expressed growing misgiving about open- ended U.S. involvement. The harshest criticism came in the Senate.
In the day’s most dramatic confrontation, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a leading critic of the Iraq campaign, told Rumsfeld that the war had become a “seeming intractable quagmire. Our troops are dying, and there is no end in sight. You basically have mismanaged the war. … Our troops deserve better.” He concluded with a renewed appeal for Rumsfeld to step down.
“In baseball, it’s three strikes, you’re out,” Kennedy said before a standing-room-only session of the Armed Services Committee. “What is it for the secretary of defense? Isn’t it time for you to resign?”
Rumsfeld replied that none of the three four-star generals seated with him “agrees with you that we’re in a quagmire and that there’s no end in sight.” Each of the officers – Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf; Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq; and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – affirmed as much.
Rumsfeld also noted that he had twice offered to resign but that President Bush did not accept.
Republicans as well as Democrats joined in calling Rumsfeld’s attention to signs of declining public support for U.S. involvement in Iraq.
“I’m here to tell you, sir, in the most patriotic state that I can imagine, people are beginning to question,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “And I don’t think it’s a blip on the radar screen.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he was concerned about the security situation and the effect on the U.S. military. “My concerns range from overstressing our Guard and Reserve forces,” he said. “I’m worried about our recruiting shortfalls. I’m not satisfied yet with plans you have to address that issue.”
Gen. Abizaid offered an assessment of the Iraqi insurgency that contrasted with more optimistic portrayals by some administration officials. He said that the resistance remains about as strong as it was six months ago and acknowledged the possibility that enemy fighters still have sufficient reserves to mount “a military surprise,” such as a surge in coordinated attacks.
His remarks appeared at odds with a claim last week by Vice President Dick Cheney – reaffirmed Thursday in an interview with CNN – that the insurgency is in its “last throes.” Pressed on the seeming difference, Abizaid said, “I’m sure you’ll forgive me” for not criticizing the vice president.
There appeared to be little support on either the Senate or House Armed Services Committees for setting a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops. But Carl Levin, D-Mich., the senior minority member on the Senate side, said that giving Iraqis “an open- ended commitment” on U.S. forces also was unacceptable.
Al-Jaafari said three conditions must be met to snuff out the insurgency. “First of all, the borders must be made very, very secure,” he said. “Secondly, Iraqi security forces must be of a caliber to carry out widespread and effective offensives against terrorists. And thirdly, the judiciary must be activated so that justice” can be carried out.
He counseled Americans to remember what happened to Germany after it was ignored by the United States and others after World War I, giving rise to Nazism. “Let’s go back and take lessons from history,” he said.
Knight Ridder Newspapers and the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
