US: The US Deputy Secretary of State, Mr Richard Armitage, clashed publicly with Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld yesterday over whether Iraq's upcoming elections should cover the whole country or be held only in areas where security could be guaranteed.
Mr Armitage said the elections scheduled for January will not be perfect, but they should encompass the entire country, while Mr Rumsfeld had suggested earlier that some violent areas may have to be excluded.
Mr Rumsfeld also said Washington would not wait until Iraq "is peaceful and perfect" before beginning to withdraw US troops "because it's never been peaceful and perfect and it isn't likely to be". But he gave no timetable for the withdrawal, a topic administration officials have avoided as President Bush has vowed to "stay the course" in the conflict that has taken centre stage in his election battle with Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry.
Another senior defence official, who asked not to be identified, said the number of US troops in Iraq is likely to rise slightly in December and January as fresh units are sent to relieve soldiers winding up their current year of duty.
As Mr Bush and Iraqi interim Prime Minister Mr Iyad Allawi in politically charged events this week touted progress since removing Saddam Hussein, US lawmakers sought answers on how elections could be held amid the worsening insurgency and how long US troops will remain.
"I think we're going to have an election that is free and open, and that has to be open to all citizens," Mr Armitage told a House of Representatives sub-committee. "I think we're going to have these elections in all parts of the country."
Mr Rumsfeld raised the possibility of partial elections on Thursday, just hours after Mr Allawi and Mr Bush, together at the White House, insisted national elections would be held on schedule in January.
"If there were to be an area where the extremists focused during the election period, and an election was not possible in that area at that time, so be it. You have the rest of the election and you go on," Mr Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
At his news conference after meeting Mr Allawi yesterday, Mr Rumsfeld did not discuss Iraqi elections. But asked about Mr Rumsfeld's earlier comments, Mr Armitage said: "I know of no changes and no plans. We're pushing ahead, fully supporting the Iraqi people, and the United Nations and the Iraqi electoral commission to have nationwide elections."