'We Are Seeing History Unfold ...'

Donald Rumsfeld: Good afternoon.

This is a good day for the Iraqi people. There is no question but that there are difficult and verydangerous days ahead and that the fighting will continue for some period. But certainly anyone seeing thefaces of the liberated Iraqis -- the free Iraqis -- has to say that this is a very good day.

Tomorrow will mark three weeks since Operation Iraqi Freedom began and the progress of the men and women inuniform who make up the coalition forces has been nothing short of spectacular. They drove through the southup, braving dust storms and death squads to reach Baghdad in record time. They secured Iraq's southern oilfields for the Iraqi people, took out terrorist camps in the north and the south, secured large sections ofwestern Iraq, preventing the regime from attacking its neighbors with Scud missiles. They've liberated citiesand towns and are now in the Iraqi capital removing the regime from its seat of power and center of gravity.

As Iraqis see the coalition progress, they are losing their fear of this vicious regime, and I think it'ssafe to say that the mood in the country is, in fact, tipping, at least in Baghdad.

The scenes of free Iraqis celebrating in the streets, riding American tanks, tearing down the statues ofSaddam Hussein in the center of Baghdad are breathtaking. Watching them, one cannot help but think of the fallof the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain. We are seeing history unfold events that will shapethe course of a country, the fate of a people, and potentially the future of the region. Saddam Hussein is nowtaking his rightful place alongside Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Ceausescu in the pantheon of failed, brutaldictators, and the Iraqi people are well on their way to freedom.

The general who led our war of liberation, George Washington, once said, "My anxious recollection, mysympathetic feeling, and my best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever in any country I see an oppressednation unfurl the banners of freedom," unquote. As we watch Iraqis unfurl the banners of freedom today,all Americans share in their joy and celebrate with them, particularly those from Michigan that we've seen ontelevision, who are seeing their country, their friends and often their relatives liberated.

Let me say a word to the families of those who have given their lives in this war. As you watch thesehistoric things unfold, take enormous pride in the service of your loved ones. They made this possible. Theirsacrifice is permitting the liberation of a people and the end of a regime that, thanks to them, will neveragain threaten the world with its weapons.

And to those Iraqi people who are not yet free, let me assure you that you will be free. I've seenPresident Bush almost every day since this conflict began. And I can assure you that he is, like the Americanpeople, committed to your freedom, and to your future, and to seeing this effort through. We will not stopuntil Saddam Hussein's regime has been removed from every corner of that country.

The Iraqi people are understandably elated at the prospect of life without Saddam Hussein. We said from thebeginning that he was finished. Now they are daring to believe it, but there is still a great deal of work todo and many unfinished missions to complete before victory can be declared. Baghdad is in the process of beingliberated, although battles continue in and around the city and the regime has been run out of a number ofIraqi cities and towns, but other Iraqi cities are still being contested and there will still be toughfighting and difficult tasks ahead.

We still must capture, account for, or otherwise deal with Saddam Hussein and his sons and the senior Iraqileadership.

We still must find and ensure the safe return of prisoners of war -- those captured in this war as well asany still held from the last Gulf War: Americans and other nationals.

We still must secure the northern oil fields, which have probably been wired for destruction, as was thecase with the southern fields.

We still need to find and secure Iraq's weapons of mass destruction facilities and secure Iraq's borders sowe can prevent the flow of weapons of mass destruction materials and senior regime officials out of thecountry. We still must find out everything we can about how the Iraqi regime acquired its capabilities and theproliferation that took place by countries in the industrialized world. We need to locate Iraqi scientistswith knowledge of these programs. And we're asking people to come forward and help in this effort. Rewards areavailable to those who help us prevent the disappearance of personnel, documentation and materials. Good livesand a better future are possible for those who turn themselves in and choose to cooperate with coalitionforces.

We must also capture or kill the terrorists still operating in Iraq and prevent them from gaining access toweapons of mass destruction.

We must locate Ba'ath Party members, records and weapon caches. We must locate the records of the IraqiIntelligence Service, the Special Security Organization, the Fedayeen Saddam death squads and the SpecialRepublican Guards. We must locate the wealth of the Iraqi regime inside of Iraq and outside of the country soit can be returned to the rightful owners, the Iraqi people.

And we must begin the process of working with free Iraqis, those liberated from portions of the country andthose returning home from exile, to establish an Iraqi interim authority and help to pave the way for a newIraqi government, a government to be chosen not by the coalition, not by the United States, but by the Iraqipeople, based on democratic principles of political freedom, individual liberty and the rule of law.

Much work remains, but this we can say with certainty: The tide is turning, the regime has been dealt aserious blow, but coalition forces will not stop until they have finished the job, the regime is removed andthe -- all of the Iraqi people are liberated.

And finally, to the Iraqi people, let me say this. There are a lot of reporters embedded with coalitionforces in your country. The reporters should be interested and willing to listen. This is your opportunity totell them your stories so that history properly records the viciousness -- the brutality of that regime and sothat history is not repeated.

To the free reporters and journalists in Iraq, this is your opportunity to listen and report. It is anhistoric opportunity for journalists. This is also true for Iraqis here in America, who can now speak freelyto the press without concern about their families and friends still in Iraq.

General Myers?

General Richard Myers: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

The chart shows that, in fact, we have made great strides in the last three weeks, and it also shows thatwhile Iraqis are beginning to celebrate in parts of Baghdad and several other areas, there are portions ofIraq still in the grip of fear. Out west, small numbers of regime death squads still exist and are harassingtravelers and citizens. The coalition may also have to remove regime forces from cities and areas in northernIraq and to eliminate small pockets of resistance in other areas. And we're currently doing just that. U.S.Special Forces have seized a small town north of Mosul and key positions south of Irbil, destroying tanks andtrucks, and taking several hundred enemy prisoners of war. More must be done in Baghdad, as well. Fightinginside the capital presents a substantial risk to coalition forces and we cannot and must not becomeoverconfident.

Now we'd like to send specific messages to two very different groups.

First, in Iraq. To those who may be holding any coalition prisoners of war: permit the International RedCross to visit them. The Geneva Convention requires you to ensure their health and well being. When thehostilities end, we fully expect to find these young men and women in good health and well cared for.

Now to another group in Afghanistan. To the families of the Afghan citizens accidentally killed in abombing in Afghanistan yesterday, we send our sincere condolences. The incident occurred after U.S. troopspursued enemy forces in the vicinity of Shkin. Close air support was called in and guided munitionsaccidentally landed on a house, killing 11 Afghan civilians. We sincerely regret the incident.

And with that, we'll take your questions.

Mr. Secretary, you mentioned the momentous pictures and what's going on in Baghdad and parts of Iraqnow. You also mentioned the need to set up an interim authority. It seems as the shooting wanes in comingdays, that the humanitarian need will grow drastically. When do you plan to send General Garner and his civilaffairs team in from Kuwait to begin doing this?

Donald Rumsfeld: I can't see why the humanitarian situation would grow drastically. Quite the contrary. Thehumanitarian --

(Off mike.)

Donald Rumsfeld: The humanitarian problem occurred under the Saddam Hussein regime for a decade. The circumstanceof those people has been terrible. They had been denied all kinds of things because he was unwilling tocooperate with the United Nations.

Now, what's happening now is that humanitarian assistance is coming in. That doesn't mean the situation isworse, it means that it's better. And it is better.

And let me just give you an example. I'll tell you what's going to happen is, the more people who go intothat country and see how serious the situation is, the needs of those people, and they're real needs, they'regoing to report there's a humanitarian crisis, the implication that it just occurred. It didn't just occur.When they say some city's been -- one-third of the city doesn't have sufficient water, compare that with sixmonths ago when maybe half of the city didn't have sufficient water.

Here's just one, in Umm Qasr. It's generally a permissive environment, flourishing somewhat due to theincrease of aid and border activity. The population has increased from 15,000 to 40,000, due to theavailability of supplies and employment. Water supply is above prewar levels -- combination of U.K. pipelineand trucking. Electricity has been restored by U.K. engineers. Sufficient food is readily available. Medicalfacilities are sufficient and operating. UNICEF is providing supplies. The port's cleared of mines and open tolimited operations. The channel needs dredging. Railway station is cleared by explosive ordnance detachment.Rail line is intact from there to Nasiriyah and they intend to open a line within seven days, which will allowmovement of bulk water up the Euphrates Valley.

So, I mean, there's just one city. I could say the same thing on Basra or Nasiriyah. So the assumption inyour question is false.

I didn't mean to assume that. Nonetheless, you have said yourself that government service is going toneed to be set up, now that there's a vacuum. What I meant to ask is when General -- when are General Garnerand his team going to begin to go in to begin setting up these government services?

Donald Rumsfeld: General Garner and his team were working here for weeks. They then went to the -- I guess Kuwait,and have been there for some weeks. I can remember seeing them off right here in the parking lot on a Sundaymorning, early. They've -- they have put together teams of people to help deal with this problem.

The choice is, do you move them once and then have to move them again to the Baghdad Airport area, or doyou just wait a day or two and see if in fact the Baghdad area is sufficiently secure that they can move inthere? And the answer is, they're going to move to the Baghdad area at that point where the Baghdad Airport isin fact sufficiently secure to take a number of civilians who are not in a combat situation, and so that theycan continue -- not begin but continue -- the process of attempting to move towards a more normalcircumstance, as the war and the kinetics decline.

There's a lot more fighting that's going to be done. There are -- more people are going to be killed; letthere be no doubt. This is not over, despite all the celebrations on the street. They're going to go in atexactly the right moment and do a very good job.

Mr. Secretary, regarding further fighting --

General Richard Myers: Charlie, I would just -- just to kind of emphasize what the secretary just said, it really doesn'tmatter where General Garner or his group is, because they are in fact acting now. The restoration of watersupplies in several southern towns, the restoration of electrical power grids -- he's the one that isoverseeing that, that work, and it doesn't matter if he's in Baghdad or if he's in Kuwait or wherever he is.He's the one charged with those responsibilities. And so, just to emphasize what the secretary said, that'sbeing done. So, his location shouldn't be of great interest.

The main reason I asked was General Blount said today that he expected --

Donald Rumsfeld: Who's he?

The head of the 3rd. Third Infantry Division.

Donald Rumsfeld: That General Blount! (Laughter.)

He said in Baghdad today that he expected the humanitarian aid flights would begin flying into Baghdad,as he put it, within days.

Donald Rumsfeld: Planes are already landing in the Baghdad airport.

But that's why I'm --

Donald Rumsfeld: C-130s? They're already going in.

General Richard Myers: C-17s.

Donald Rumsfeld: No, it's -- the planes are already going into Baghdad airport. That isn't the question. Thequestion is, do you want to take a large cell of people and put them in there and then provide forceprotection in addition to all the other things that are taking place in that particular --

General Richard Myers: Under combat conditions --

Donald Rumsfeld: Yeah.

General Richard Myers: -- when you could have them working effectively from where they are. So they'll --

Donald Rumsfeld: So he's exactly correct.

Mr. Secretary? Mr. Secretary, when peace finally comes to Iran (sic), or at least there is somestability --

Donald Rumsfeld: Iraq, maybe?

Iraq. (Laughter.) I'm thinking ahead of myself. My tongue is faster than my brain. Let me start again.When peace finally comes to Iraq, at least stability, what's next in the Middle East? You have thrown down thegauntlet to Syria. Are they in the sights for military action? What about Iran, which to many is the 800-poundgorilla in the Middle East? What's next for us in the Middle East?

Donald Rumsfeld: No one's thrown down the gauntlet. I've accurately observed that they would be well advised tonot provide military capabilities to Iraq. They seem to have made a conscious to decision to ignore that.Senior regime people are moving out of Iraq into Syria, and Syria is continuing to send things into Iraq. Wefind it notably unhelpful.

The question you ask, however, is not a question I can answer. It depends on people's behavior. Andcertainly I have nothing to announce. We're still dealing with Iraq.

You said in the list still left to do that the U.S. military must still capture or otherwise deal withSaddam Hussein and his sons. Do you believe that Saddam Hussein is still alive?

Donald Rumsfeld: Don't know.

Do you believe that he was in that building before it was taken out?

Donald Rumsfeld: Don't know.

Mr. Secretary?

General Myers?

Donald Rumsfeld: Yes.

Could you characterize --

Donald Rumsfeld: No, no. That's two.

No, hold on.

Donald Rumsfeld: Nope, that's all. No hold on. (Laughter.)

There was -- (inaudible.)

Donald Rumsfeld: No! Yes, there was. (Laughter.) You just don't like one-word answers. (Laughter.)

Yes.

I wondered -- I wondered if I could ask General Myers if you would describe what sort of Iraqi forcesare left to contend with in the north. Are they Republican Guards? Are they regular army? Do you have an ideaof how many?

And Mr. Secretary, in light of the criticisms of the supply line and the pause that was reported a week ortwo ago, are you feeling vindicated today?

General Richard Myers: As far as the forces left to deal with, in Baghdad city itself, still the special securityorganization, Special Republican Guard, the death squads who are probably there and of course in other majorcities and probably even some of the smaller cities, Ba'athist Party members who use force and fear andintimidation to coerce the population.

In terms of regular army, there are about 10-plus regular army divisions left in the north and perhaps asmuch as one brigade of a Republican Guards division up there, an infantry division, that we think is stillleft in the north. Now, they have been subjected to bombing by air power and will continue to be dealt with inthat way for some time.

Donald Rumsfeld: You're right, there have been a lot of people who've suggested that the force was undersized andthat they went too fast and they should have had a long air war first. I happen to think that -- it's not amatter for me to be vindicated. I happen to think that General Franks and his team have done an absolutelysuperb job. And the young folks in uniform who have marched to Baghdad and done such superb work in the airand at sea, and the leadership they have had with General McKiernan, and Admiral Keating and General Moseley,working with General Franks, has been excellent. I think the outcome is in the process of speaking for itselfand it's not for me to draw conclusions about it.