Rumsfeld Ponders War Progress in Memo -Report [View All]

Rumsfeld Ponders War Progress in Memo -Report

Wed October 22, 2003 02:50 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has no yardstick for measuring progress in its war on terrorism and is in for a long stay in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrote in a memo last week to senior staff officials, USA Today reported on Wednesday.

Sharply diverging from upbeat public comments, Rumsfeld writes that it is not possible to transform the Pentagon quickly enough to effectively fight the anti-terror war and that a new institution might be necessary to do that, the newspaper reported.

According to the newspaper, the Oct. 16 memo suggests that significant work remains to be done, raises a number of probing questions and offers few detailed proposals.

"Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terrorism?" Rumsfeld asks in the memo as quoted by the newspaper.

He cites "mixed results" against al Qaeda, "reasonable progress tracking down top Iraqis" and "somewhat slower progress" in apprehending Taliban leaders, the report said.

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