Rumsfeld flies into Iraq for Christmas visit

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on a surprise Christmas Eve visit to US troops in Iraq, said he remained confident of defeating the insurgency and stabilising Iraq, while noting that to some “it looks bleak”.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on a surprise Christmas Eve visit with the troops three days after the devastating attack on a US military dining hall here, told soldiers he remained confident of defeating the insurgency and stabilising Iraq, while noting that to some “it looks bleak”.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, this is achievable,” Rumsfeld, who flew here under tight security, told a couple of hundred 1st Brigade soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division at their commander’s headquarters.