Mike Levin: “last week a memorandum on the war on terrorism from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to his top subordinates was leaked to…”

“last week a memorandum on the war on terrorism from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to his top subordinates was leaked to the press. In that memo, Secretary Rumsfeld asked a number of questions, including the following: Is our current situation such that ``the harder we work, the behinder we get?'' Then he asked: ``What else should we be considering?'' Well, I am dismayed that Secretary Rumsfeld says publicly something so differently than what he has said privately. I am glad he is looking for new direction since our post-Saddam policy is not working well, given the sustained and increasing attacks on our forces. Secretary Rumsfeld asked--again--``What else should we be considering?'' Well, the President of the Iraqi Governing Council has made a specific recommendation for us to consider: that the regular Iraqi Army units be called up to assist our troops in providing security for the reconstruction of their country. Surely it is worthy of our consideration, when Iyad Alawi, this month's serving President of the Iraqi Governing Council--the 25-member body selected by the United States to represent the Iraqi people--is making a suggestion to change course. He wrote an important opinion piece entitled ``America Must Let Iraq Rebuild Itself,'' which was published by the New York Times on October 19.”