Rumsfeld raises questions about war against terror

Posing challenging questions to the military Joint Chiefs of Staff and others, Rumsfeld said the US had no yardstick for measuring progress in the war.

The Pentagon and White House said the memo raised issues for Pentagon leaders to consider. ‘‘It is clear the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq … but it will be a long, hard slog,’’ Rumsfeld wrote.

‘‘My impression is that we have not yet made bold moves, although we have made many sensible, logical moves, but are they enough?’’ he wrote.

Rumsfeld challenged Pentagon leaders to consider and discuss issues, including whether or not the US was capturing or killing terrorists at a faster rate than they were being created by extremists who preach hatred of the West.

‘‘Are we winning or losing the war on terrorism? Does the US need to fashion a broad, plan to stop the next generation of terrorists?’’ he asked. ‘‘The US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into stopping terrorists.’’

Rumsfeld cited ‘‘mixed results’’ against the al Qaeda network, ‘‘reasonable progress in tracking down top Iraqis’’ and ‘‘slower progress’’ in catching Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.

Defense Department spokesman Larry Di Rita said the memo was not meant to be a critique of the war, but to challenge defense leaders to ‘‘look beyond the treetops’’ to long-range needs. ‘‘It occurred to the secretary that it might be useful to sort of pull up a little bit and remind people that this is a global war on terror,’’ Di Rita said. (Reuters)