Rumsfeld Decries Focus on Iraqi Violence

WASHINGTON -- Painting an optimistic picture of Iraq's future, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Monday warned that the U.S. mission in Iraq is "essential to protecting the lives of the American people."

 Rumsfeld said that progress in Iraq cannot be measured by the level of bloodshed or the number of terrorist attacks, and criticized news outlets for dwelling on violence in reports from Iraq. 



 Also Monday, the Pentagon announced the appointment of a retired four star Army general to lead an expanded task force to seek solutions to the threat posed by improvised explosive devices, which have become the leading cause of death of U.S. troops in Iraq. 



 The appointment of retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, a former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe and of NATO's peacekeeping force in Bosnia, came after criticism from senior U.S. commanders -- including from Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, who heads all U.S. forces in the Middle East -- that Washington was not giving a high enough priority to solving the IED problem. 



 Critics have said that the current IED task force, with a one star general in charge, lacks the clout to pressure agencies such as the CIA, FBI and Department of Energy to devote more resources and full-time personnel to the effort. 



 Rumsfeld's remarks to an audience of graduate school students in Washington came during a weeklong push by the Bush administration to shore up declining support for the Iraq war among the U.S. public. Since President Bush outlined a "strategy for victory" in an address at the U.S. Naval Academy last Wednesday, a number of senior U.S. officials in speeches and interviews have attempted to detail plans for success in a war that is approaching its third anniversary. 



 Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to continue the campaign Tuesday during a speech at Fort Drum, N.Y., where he will address soldiers returning from Iraq. Senior Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also have joined the administration effort and scheduled a news conference Tuesday to tout progress being made in Iraq. 



 Citing achievements since the U.S.-led war in Iraq began, Rumsfeld assailed the U.S. news media's focus on attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians, and said positive developments are being kept from the American public. 



 "To be responsible, one needs to stop defining success in Iraq as the absence of terrorist attacks," Rumsfeld said. 



 "Which view of Iraq is more accurate, the pessimistic view of the so-called elites in our country, or the more optimistic view expressed by millions of Iraqis and by some 155,000 U.S. troops on the ground?" Rumsfeld asked. 



 During a question and answer session after his speech, held at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Rumsfeld for the first time addressed recent reports that the U.S. military in Iraq was paying to get positive news stories published in Iraqi news outlets. 



 Rumsfeld said that Army Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, is investigating. The Defense secretary also raised the possibility that a private defense contractor working with the military, a Washington, D.C.-based firm called Lincoln Group, may have violated Pentagon policy regarding "information operations." 



 "We know what the policy was. And now the question is ... was (the contractor) implementing the policy properly?" Rumsfeld said. 



 The Lincoln Group has declined to answer questions about its activities in Iraq, but said in a statement last week that its work is aimed at encouraging truthful reporting by Iraqi media.