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America Must Stay the Course in Iraq

The American Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, has once again stated that the United States need to stay the course in Iraq and finish the job America and several of her allies started over three years ago with the invasion of the country and the toppling of the regime of dictator Saddam Hussein. Mr. Rumsfeld`s remarks came on the sixteenth anniversary of Hussein`s forces invading Kuwait, overwhelming the small sheikhdom`s forces and setting the stage for the first Gulf War and later his own removal.

At the Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld reminded reporters that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently went before a Joint Session of Congress - an honor only a select few can claim to have been given - to tell the American people that if Islamist terrorists are allowed to claim victory in Iraq, "then the war on terror will never be won elsewhere." According to Rumsfeld, "The enemy knows this as well, and they are waging a psychological war of attrition - designing their attacks to gain maximum media coverage and maximum public outcry."

Of the terrorists carrying out daily attacks within Iraq, Rumsfeld stated "They want us to believe that perseverance is futile, rather than necessary. They want us to focus on our casualties and not on the people causing the casualties, to focus on what might happen if we stay in Iraq, as opposed to the dire consequences were we to leave prematurely." In addition to his comments on Iraq, the secretary cited solid progress coalition troops are helping bring about in Afghanistan, as NATO assumes more responsibility for security in the country`s south.