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Pentagon downplays rumsfeld pessimism { October 22 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1066565290110&p=1012571727088 http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1066565290110&p=1012571727088 Pentagon downplays Rumsfeld pessimism By Marianne Brun-Rovet in Washington Published: October 22 2003 19:16 | Last Updated: October 22 2003 19:16 A senior Pentagon official on Wednesday insisted the US military was succeeding in Afghanistan and Iraq despite a private admission from Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, that both rebuilding efforts would be "a long, hard slog". Larry Di Rita, Mr Rumsfeld's chief of staff, said Mr Rumsfeld's comments - in an internal Pentagon memo published on Wednesday by USA Today - were intended to ask "tough questions" about how best to proceed in the war on terror. It did not paint a bleak picture of Iraqi and Afghan operations, he said. "It was a memo about the global war on terror, trying to ask the kinds of questions that need to be asked," Mr Di Rita said. Mr Rumsfeld's memo, dated October 16, sought opinions from senior defence officials about whether the US was winning the "war on terrorism" and whether the Pentagon was too large and too slow to deal with new threats. "It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog," the memo said. It also questioned US success against al-Qaeda, saying the Pentagon is having "mixed results" against the terrorist group. "We have put considerable pressure on them - nonetheless, a great many remain at large," it said. The memo was written even as the administration was embarking on an aggressive public relations campaign to persuade Americans the rebuilding was going well and the US was succeeding in tackling terrorism. Up to 70 countries are attending a two-day international donors' conference that starts in Madrid on Thursday. It aims to raise an estimated $56bn (€48bn) needed for the rebuilding of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Additional reporting by Peter Spiegel in London

Pentagon downplays rumsfeld pessimism { October 22 2003 } Reaction to rumsfled memo Rumsfeld livid memo leak { October 23 2003 } Files Listed: 3

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