Rumsfeld makes surprise visit to Baghdad

In a show of support for Iraq’s emerging government, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in the capital Baghdad unannounced today for meetings with Prime Minister-designate Jawad al-Maliki and other newly selected leaders.

Rumsfeld, who flew overnight from Washington after a private meeting on Capitol Hill with a group of Republican senators, also was holding talks there with Gen. George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, and other senior commanders to discuss progress on the military front.