Reply #5: Rumsfeld Memo Proposed ‘Major Adjustment’ in Iraq

[YankeyMCC]

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 — Two days before he resigned as defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld submitted a classified memo to the White House that acknowledged that the Bush administration’s strategy in Iraq was not working and called for a major course correction.

“In my view it is time for a major adjustment,” wrote Mr. Rumsfeld, who has been a symbol of a dogged stay-the-course policy. “Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough.”
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Told that The New York Times had obtained a copy of it, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed its authenticity. “As it became clear that people were considering options for the way forward, the secretary had some views on the subject, and this memo reflects those views,” said the spokesman, Eric Ruff.
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Reflecting exasperation with much of the American government, another option in Mr. Rumsfeld’s memo raises the possibility of using military reservists to “beef up” the Iraqi government’s ministries. “Give up on trying to get other USG Departments to do it,” he writes, referring to other United States government agencies.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/world/middleeast/03military.html?ex=1322802000&en=d3707e8439602a08&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss