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Rumsfeld: Good afternoon. I am delighted to be back in the Republic of Korea. I must say that we had excellent meetings today of the Standing Consultative Group. I attended, participated in one of these meetings some 27 years ago in 1976, more than half of the life of this alliance of 50 years ago. And I must say that after 50 years the U.S./Republic of Korea alliance remains strong and healthy, as is the friendship between our two people. I would guess, I don't know this, but I would guess we may have had one of the most...

Q: How can we promote democracy in North Korea? Rumsfeld: People in North Korea have to decide what system of government they want. Anyone who looks at the world can see that the countries that have freer political systems and freer economic systems are the countries that are successful for their people. And the countries that do not end up having not providing the kind of prosperity for their people that they could have if they would have freer systems. Q: Do you really believe that North Korea can give up their WMD program in exchange for security guarantee...

MODERATOR: Ladies and Gentlemen, we shall now commence a joint press conference after the Defense Summit meeting of Japan and the United States. First of all, we will ask the Minister and the Secretary to make their initial remarks, Minister Ishiba first. DIRECTOR-GENERAL ISHIBA: Thank you very much, Ladies and Gentlemen. Today we had the pleasure of receiving Secretary Rumsfeld to our agency and for slightly longer than one hour, we completed the Defense Summit meeting between Japan and the United States. It has been one year since I met him last, on the occasion of two-plus-two. At this...

Rumsfeld: Thank you, Captain [inaudible]. [Applause] If they serve food like this every day I'm about ready to rejoin. [Laughter] Captain and distinguished guests, members of the press that are traveling with us here, and the crew of the USS Blue Ridge. I am delighted to be here. We've been in Guam and we head from here to Okinawa and then over to Korea. The reason I'm here and those that are traveling with me are here is because this part of the world is so enormously important to our country and to this region. We feel the events...

United States Department of Defense News Transcripts On the web: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20031114-secdef0876.html Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131 Public contact: http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711 Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld Friday, November 14, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Secretary Rumsfeld Media Availability En Route to Tokyo Rumsfeld: We've been given the itinerary and we know that I'm going to go right from the airplane to meet with the Prime Minister and then to a reception. Then I'm meeting tomorrow with the Foreign Minister and the Minister of State for Defense. The discussions we'll be having will be on the normal range. Of things...

Friday, November 14, 2003 Secretary Rumsfeld - Anderson AFB Town Hall Meeting Rumsfeld: Thank you very much. General Larson and Admiral Dunn and Colonel Mugg, members of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard. I guess there are no Japanese Defense Forces here today, but civilians and contractors. It's awfully nice to see all of you and to be able to get out of Washington, D.C. and have a chance to look you in the eye and tell you how much we appreciate what you do. It is a very special thing you do. Each...

Rumsfeld: I want to just make a comment or two about our trip. If you go back to our Quadrennial Defense Review in our Regional Defense Guidance back in 2001 before September 11, it pointed out the importance of Asia to the United States to our circumstance in the world. Our visit this week is to two important allies -- Japan and Republic of Korea -- also with stops in Okinawa and Guam. Both countries are being helpful in the global war on terror, as well as in Iraq, and I look forward to meeting with the leadership of...

SEC. RUMSFELD: Thank you very much. Later this week, I will be -- I think on Wednesday, I'll be traveling to Asia to visit with U.S. troops and to thank them for the important work they're doing in the region. We'll also be having meetings with two key allies in Japan and the Republic of Korea to discuss the arrangements we have with them and our close cooperation in the global war on terror. Over the past several years, Japan has taken steps to evolve their role that their military plays in international security matters: sending an engineering battalion...

(Participating were Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.) Rumsfeld: Good afternoon. The troops deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom have a great deal to be proud of. They have rescued a nation and liberated a people. And today, they are fighting terrorists and regime remnants and doing a great deal to help the Iraqi people get on a path to stability and self-government. As we've indicated, the bulk of the U.S. troops that are currently in Iraq will be rotating out beginning next, I guess, January,...

Stephanopoulos: Good morning, everyone. We have major, breaking news from Iraq this morning. At least 13 U.S. servicemen dead after a Chinook helicopter was shot down on its way to Baghdad Airport. That is one of at least three attacks on U.S. servicemen this morning. And it caps the bloodiest week in Iraq since the president declared an end to major combat on May 1st. We'll have the latest from Baghdad, plus the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, coming right up. Announcer: From ABC News - "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Now, reporting from the ABC News studios in...

Russert: First, some tragic news from Iraq this morning. This is the scene, 13 American servicemen killed, 20 wounded or injured, when an American helicopter crashed. It is expected it perhaps was shot down. We'll find out now from our guest, the secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. Mr. Secretary, welcome back to "Meet the Press." Rumsfeld: Thank you, Tim. Russert: What can you tell us about this tragedy? Rumsfeld: I've seen the early reports, and early reports are often wrong. They're often adjusted later. And the early report indicated essentially what you've said. Russert: Thirteen dead? Rumsfeld: The number...

Thursday, October 30, 2003 Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld Empower America 10th Anniversary Dinner Remarks Rumsfeld: Thank you thank you very much. Thank you I appreciate that. Well, this is a delight! Joyce and I are so pleased to be here. Organizations come and go they start and they end only a few last a decade and very few not only last a decade but make the kinds of contributions that this organization has and I must say that Floyd and all of those that support this organization -- congratulations to you. You're doing a good thing and I...

SEC. RUMSFELD: Good afternoon. General Myers is not here, as you may have noticed. My friend is meeting with the chief of the armed services of Spain at the present time. The task in Iraq remains difficult and dangerous. But as Jerry Bremer and John Abizaid, who were here, have said, there has been progress across a range of coalition activities over the past six months. Our plan called for the establishment of an Iraqi cabinet of ministers, and the coalition did it in four months. It took 14 months in post-war Germany. The plan called for the establishment...

Monday, October 27, 2003 Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld Regional Media Interviews Interviewed by Katarina Bandini, WHDH, Boston Q: As you know, Mr. Secretary, today in Baghdad was the deadliest day since the war ended. Red Cross, other aid agencies thinking of pulling back. How can you say we're winning the war to secure this country in Iraq? Isn't it the terrorists that are making the progress? Rumsfeld: Well, this was a bad day yesterday, and there's no question about that. The attacks by the Iraqi terrorists against, for the most part against Iraqis, says something I think very...

Thursday, October 23, 2003 Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Interview with Washington Times, Editorial Board Q: First of all we want to thank you very much for this. Short notice or not, we're always happy to come over and talk to you. We got a copy here of a memo, General Myers -- Rumsfeld: Yes, indeed. Q: You're familiar with this. Rumsfeld: Yes, I am. Q: I want to ask you about it, needless to say. I saw the press conference today, the comments you made since this thing was published. You talked about largely that you were raising questions...

(Participating was Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Lawrence Dirita, Acting Assistant Secretary Of Defense for Public Affairs; Lieutenant General Norton Schwartz, Director For Operations, J-3, Joint Staff.) MR. DIRITA: Good afternoon. We didn't have anything in particular, other than that we've talked to you over the weeks about getting General Schwartz in here now and then to give an update on operational activities. And we thought since it's been sort of quiet the last couple of days, it would be a good opportunity for him to come on down and do that. So, I don't have a statement, and...

(Also participating was Senator Jeff Sessions, and Gen. Richard Myers chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.) SEN. SESSIONS: All right. We had another very good briefing with the secretary of Defense and General Myers. They stayed till every senator had every question they wanted to ask asked, beyond the allotted time that had been set there. I thought the questions were to the point, insightful and constructive. It was a very, very good session. And with that, I'll turn it over to Secretary Rumsfeld. SEC. RUMSFELD: We'd be happy to answer a few questions. Q Talk about your...

<p>The questions I posed to combatant commanders this week were: Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terror? Is DoD changing fast enough to deal with the new 21st century security environment? Can a big institution change fast enough? Is the USG changing fast enough?</p>

SEC. RUMSFELD: Good afternoon. It's been a good week for the people of Iraq. In New York, the U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 1511, unanimously calling on member states to support the work of the multinational force that's currently in Iraq and to contribute both military forces and financial support to Iraq's reconstruction. And here in Washington, the House and the Senate each approved, largely intact, the president's emergency supplemental request with funds for Iraq and for the troops in the global war on terror. Taken together, the votes in Congress and at the U.N. represent strong bipartisan and...

Senator Helms: Thank you very much. I've never been introduced on film before. But it was an eloquent thing, and some of it was correct. [Laughter] That videotape certainly brought back a lot of memories, as you can imagine. Sooner or later I will get close to the microphone. I'm not accustomed to sitting down. I have just seen a tape that brought back a million memories to me. I don't want to choke up, but there was a lot of love between this old guy and two or three of the people you saw on the film. In...