Washington, Oct 01: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed as "utter nonsense" the charges that the pentagon failed to adequately plan for post-war Iraq, as he fended off sharp questions about the occupation's high cost and stress on us forces. Rumsfeld and his aides side-stepped questions about how much the Iraq operation will cost, how much they expect to raise from allies at a donors conference in Spain next month, and how long US forces are likely to be tied down in Iraq.
At a congressional hearing on President George W Bush's request for another 87 billion dollars for Iraq this year, Rumfeld blamed the perception that US-led occupation is in trouble to "misinformation" and "a wave of bad press". "There's been very good planning done here. The bridges, the Central Bank has been set up, the schools, the water, the electrical system's being worked on, the judicial system's out and functioning, civil defence people, village clerks," he said.
Democrats and some Republicans, however, raised a host of concerns about long-term costs and the effects on US forces, particularly the National Guard and Reserves. "I recognize we don't pull the plug on this operation once we start it," said Representative David Obey, Democrat of Wisconsin. "I think to do so would be like a surgeon opening up a patient and then saying the hell with it." Bureau Report