Posted on 03/28/2003 9:19:02 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
Washington -- The following are comments by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the importance of opening a northern front in Iraq.About 1,000 paratroopers from the 173rd Aviation Brigade last night took control of an airfield at Bashur, in a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. Their arrival may clear the way for the entry of more U.S. troops who will attack the Iraqi military from the north. The jump into Iraq was necessary because Turkey refused to allow U.S. troops to use Turkish bases.
Rumsfeld spoke at a congressional hearing and to reporters after the hearing.
On Turkey's role and a northern front:
The 4th Infantry Division ``would have come in by boat and rail across Turkey and into northern Iraq. We waited. We waited. We waited and it didn't happen.
``So what are we doing? We are flying aircraft in there, and engineering and construction people trying to fix that airport.''
``We will have the kinds of forces in the north that will be of concern to Saddam Hussein and his crowd, that will be there to see that what takes place doesn't in any way run the risk of having that country fracture. It is an important thing that had to be done in real-time.''
Had the 4th Infantry been able to move into Iraq from Turkey ``it would have complicated the task for the Iraqi regime somewhat in terms of how they may have located their Republican Guard units -- put a bit more pressure, although there is pressure now.''
On U.S. forces:
``We had a large number of special forces in the north. We have friendly Kurdish forces that are armed and capable and the entry into the north of the 173rd strengthens and beefs up that presence.
``That's helpful for a number of reasons. That gives us a somewhat better ability to make sure that the northern oil fields are not set on fire or destroyed by the Iraqi military. It gives us a better opportunity to work closely with the Kurds.
``It clearly ought to give confidence to the Turkish government that we are physically present in a way that will enable us to assure our commitment to keep one single country intact, rather than allowing it to be broken into pieces. It complicates the problem for Saddam Hussein.''
On whether the U.S. needs more than 250,000 military in the Persian Gulf region:
``The flow of forces was decided many, many weeks ago. It has been put in place by General (Tommy) Franks. It's a plan that has been worked through carefully by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and it was designed in a way that forces would continue to flow over a sustained period.
``The only big change in the plan was that the 4th Infantry Division did not come in by land through Turkey.
``Every day, the number of coalition forces in Iraq is increasing by 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 people and it's going to continue that. We have plenty of forces in route.''
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