Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 28, 2003
Rumsfeld Arrives in Qatar on Second Leg of Gulf Tour
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeldarrived here late Sunday on the second leg of his Gulf tour.Rumsfeld is expected to make an inspection at the US CentralCommand war headquarters in Qatar.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived here late Sunday on the second leg of his Gulf tour. Rumsfeld is expected to make an inspection at the US Central Command war headquarters in Qatar.
He was in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier in the day for talks with UAE officials on possible re-arrangements for US military presence in the Gulf.
Neither Rumsfeld nor Central Command chief Tommy Franks has pledged the downgrade of some 150,000 US troops in the Gulf, where the US military began deployment after Iraqi invasion into Kuwait in 1990.
Rumsfeld's Gulf tour came at a time when the US-led war against Iraq is coming to an end.
He is reported to include Iraq in his ongoing trip, but the schedule is not disclosed for security reason. Defying international opposition, the United States and Britain launched a war against Iraq on March 20, and the coalition troops ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after 20 days of offensives.