US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued Monday that American military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan serve as a necessary check on what he described as dangerous impulses coming out of Iran. Speaking to the Pentagon's own television channel, Rumsfeld said those who view the campaigns as too costly or slow must weigh what an early withdrawal would mean for Iranian ambitions.
His remarks came as diplomatic tensions over Iran's nuclear program were intensifying. Washington contends the program is weapons-oriented, while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected calls to halt uranium enrichment and raised the possibility of leaving the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The US indicated the UN Security Council would examine a draft resolution requiring Iranian compliance, with potential military consequences for refusal.
Rumsfeld avoided any mention of military options against Iran, framing stable, democratic governments in Iraq and Afghanistan as fundamentally contrary to Iranian interests. He called the resolution of Iraq's four-month leadership deadlock a remarkable achievement, while cautioning that insurgents were likely to test the incoming government led by Shiite politician Jawad al-Maliki, who has 30 days to assemble a cabinet.
The secretary added that capable Iraqi interior and defense ministers would allow Iraqi forces to steadily assume greater security responsibilities, enabling a gradual reduction in US troop levels.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.