- (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,
in Singapore for a conference with Iraq war allies such as the U.K., Australia
and Japan, said the war on terrorism is closer to the beginning than the
end.
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- Rumsfeld said the U.S. had succeeded in blocking terrorist
funds amounting to as much as $200 million since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks
on New York and the Pentagon. Many terrorist cells in Southeast Asia too
had been broken up and arrests had resulted in valuable information that
had enhanced the region's security.
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- While U.S. military alliances with Southeast Asian countries
are strong and the country is committed to its presence in Asia, no area
in the world is immune from terrorist attacks, he said. Future threats
to the U.S. and other countries will come from small cells and not great
powers.
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- "Our close cooperation with allies and friends in
Asia is more essential than ever," Rumsfeld said in a speech at the
conference. "Because (terrorism) cannot be appeased, it must be confronted.
Terrorists continue to inflict violence, death across the globe."
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- Defense ministers of U.S. allies at the three-day conference
by the International Institute for Strategic Studies include Australia's
Robert Hill, Shigeru Ishiba from Japan and the U.K.'s Adam Ingram. Rumsfeld
also met Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Defense Minister Teo
Chee Hean. The city-state supported the Iraq war.
-
- Since May last year, when U.S. President George Bush
declared major combat operations over in Iraq, at least 668 U.S. soldiers,
sailors and Marines have been killed in ambushes or battles in the country.
-
- There are 18,000 potential terrorists at large, and recruitment
by groups is accelerating because of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the International
Institute for Strategic Studies said on May 25 in its annual survey.
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- Iraq
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- The U.S.-led coalition is about to hand over sovereignty
to an interim Iraqi government on June 30. The U.S. and its main ally in
Iraq, the U.K., are drafting a United Nations Security Council resolution
on the power transfer and setting out details for elections of a permanent
government as insurgents continue attacks on coalition troops and Iraq's
civilian leaders.
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- Rumsfeld cited the evolution of "Asian democracy"
as an example for Iraq. "Think about how much has changed in Asia
in this region in the past few decades. Today, Asia is one of the fastest
growing centers for the creation of opportunity, prosperity and knowledge,
through freer economic systems."
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- Failure of the U.S.-led military occupation in Iraq would
result in anarchy, civil war, ethnic cleansing and the emergence of another
Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, Rumsfeld said. "There
is no alternative to pursuing this effort in transferring power to the
Iraqi people."
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- Rumsfeld said the media has been negative in reporting
about Iraq. The U.S.-led military occupation in Iraq has resulted in economic
growth, the building of hospitals and schools in the country, while most
Iraqis backed the removal of former President from power, he said.
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- North Korea, accused of developing nuclear weapons, is
becoming more dangerous and is "operating well outside norm,"
Rumsfeld said.
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- Rumsfeld defended the U.S. against accusations that its
foreign policy was isolationist and unilateral. While the administration
would have been happy to pass of intervention in Haiti, for example, to
any multinational organization, it was forced to assemble a "coalition
of the willing" to intervene to stem violence in the Caribbean country,
Rumsfeld said.
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- "Nobody was home. Nobody answered the phone,"
he said, adding that the accusation of unilateralism was "a bum rap."
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- ©2004 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=avS6.5.x1GHc&refer=asia
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