Rumsfeld says patience needed in Iraq

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld counseled those anxious to see an end to the US presence in Iraq to exercise patience while Iraqi security forces become more experienced in quelling violence and defending their new government.

Many people live in an age of having their expectations met almost instantly, he said, but warned instant gratification cannot be applied to the duration of US soldiers' stay in Iraq. It takes time to produce seasoned, mature Iraqi security forces, the secretary said during a March 27 speech at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

A Jordanian colonel, attending a security seminar at the college, asked Rumsfeld if there was a limit to the time the United States would wait for the Iraqi security apparatus to be functioning fully.

The secretary, after thanking the colonel for Jordan's "cooperation in so many different ways," replied that conditions on the ground will determine the duration of US deployment in Iraq.

Rumsfeld highlighted progress made by Iraqis as they build a new military and police force:

• Iraqi security forces are gaining in experience and becoming more effective in countering the insurgency;

• US military forces increasingly are working in an advisory role and are embedded with their Iraqi counterparts, where they are ideally positioned to spot potential weaknesses and to make necessary adjustments;

• Thirty military facilities or bases already have been turned over by the coalition to Iraq; and

• 240,000 Iraqi forces are operating as special commandos and border patrol officers.

The Iraqi forces are making steady progress, Rumsfeld said, and, over time they will assume greater responsibility. Then, the secretary added, "we'll be in a position to turn [all security operations] over to them and provide various types of enabling assistance for some period of time thereafter."