WASHINGTON -Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday he is confident the interim Iraqi government will find a way to retake cities now in the hands of insurgents.
He also expressed sympathy for the rising number of American military deaths in Iraq, now more than 1,000 since the start of the war.
We certainly honor the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in uniform who has served in Iraq and who is currently serving there
he said. And needless to say we mourn with the families of those lost.
Taking a broader view, Rumsfeld cited progress on multiple fronts in the Bush administration's global war on terrorism and said U.S. enemies should not underestimate the willingness of the American people and its coalition allies to suffer casualties in Iraq and elsewhere.
The progress has prompted a backlash
in effect
from those who hope that at some point we might conclude that the pain and the cost of this fight isn't worth it
Rumsfeld told reporters. Well
our enemies have underestimated our country
our coalition. They have failed to understand the character of our people. And they certainly misread our commander in chief.
Rumsfeld said the war in Iraq has not created more terrorists there, but he also cautioned that the country needs a more capable security force of its own to eventually defeat the insurgents.
He said interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi understands the threat from continued instability.
The prime minister and his team fully understand that it is important that there not be areas in that country that are controlled by terrorists
he said. Later he added, For their country to succeed
they simply cannot over a sustained period of time have areas that are under the control of people who are violently opposed to that government.
He was referring to major cities such as Fallujah and Samarra, where neither U.S. forces nor the Iraqi government are in control.
Rumsfeld condemned the terrorist attack on a Russian school that killed more than 350 people, including children, and said it underscored how the war on terrorism is a global struggle.
We saw vividly the extremes to which terrorists are willing to go to achieve their ends
Rumsfeld said at his first Pentagon news conference since July 21.
He said the civilized world must stay on the offensive against terrorists.
There really are no free passes in this struggle
