Rumsfeld makes surprise visit to Iraq to review security
AFP, Baghdad
US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld flew into Iraq on an unannounced visit yesterday to review the security and political situation in the war-torn country, a day after four Iraqis and an American soldier were killed by a homemade bomb in Baghdad. Meanwhile, US overseer Paul Bremer has insisted that there is no place in the new Iraq for militia forces, knocking down support among the interim Governing Council for setting up such a force. Rumsfeld, an outspoken champion of the six-week spring invasion, quizzed US commanders in the main oil centre of Kirkuk on their efforts to capture militant leaders and meet local officials at a heavily guarded safe house. He then helicoptered to Baghdad on his third visit to Iraq since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in April, amid an intensifying effort to quash attacks on coalition forces while fielding more Iraqi security forces. He arrived at the 82nd Airborne Division camp on the southern edge of the city from Kirkuk. About 40 Iraqis in civilian dress were marching around a courtyard as Rumsfeld visited, an AFP correspondent reported. Rumsfeld's itinerary has been kept secret for security reasons.
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