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Rumsfeld visits Iraq

Rumsfeld pays second visit to Iraq in four months
Rumsfeld pays second visit to Iraq in four months

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) -- U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in Baghdad on Saturday that a programme to train and deploy Iraqi security forces should be accelerated as Washington works to return sovereignty to the Iraqi people.

Rumsfeld was speaking after arriving in Baghdad from the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk where he began a first-hand appraisal of political and military conditions in Iraq.

He said he would like to accelerate the recruitment, training and deployment of Iraqis in various security forces.

"I am convinced that the direction that we set from the outset is the right one and that is being executed exceedingly well, and that the security circumstances in the country will be passed over time to Iraqi security forces of various types, and that they will be able to do it,'' he told reporters.

Rumsfeld flew into Baghdad one day after a street bombing in the Iraqi capital killed one U.S. soldier and four Iraqis.

Since Rumsfeld's last visit to Iraq in September, an Iraqi insurgency has escalated against U.S. forces and allies as well as against Iraqis cooperating with the American-led occupation.

In response, the United States wants to return sovereignty to the Iraqi people at a quicker pace and has built up the number of trained Iraqi security personnel to the point that they now outnumber the 130,000 U.S. troops in the country.

Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said aggressive military operations against guerrillas had cut the number of attacks to 20 a day from 50 a day.

Rumsfeld however said: "It is too early to say it's a trend.''

In Kirkuk Rumsfeld ate breakfast with soldiers at an airbase cafeteria at a table surrounded by troops and a Christmas tree.

He arrived in Kirkuk in rain just after daybreak aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane from Georgia.

Major General Ray Odierno, commander of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, told Rumsfeld in Kirkuk that more Iraqis were coming forward with better intelligence tips against guerrillas.

No chance of stumbling on key fugitives

Rumsfeld said there was no chance American forces would stumble on key Iraqi fugitives including former president Saddam Hussein, ousted by the U.S. invasion in April.

"The chances of us stumbling on one of the top guys are zero,'' he said.

U.S. forces have arrested or killed most targets on their list of 55 most-wanted members of the former regime.

After Saddam, the most sought fugitive is the former president's right-hand man, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. Both remain at large despite intense efforts and huge bounties.



Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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