News transcript. Page 2 of 2.

M2 PRESSWIRE-10 December 2003-US DOD: News transcript. Page 2 of 2.(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:12092003

GEN. MYERS: Well, I think we've answered it before, that there are -- we have forces trained to go after the high-value targets of interest to us over there. And when I'm talking about the high-value targets, I'm talking about essentially the top 55 that were in the deck of cards, if you will; and there are a little over 200 more that we're very interested in. But the top 55, we have a unit that focuses on them and tries to fuse all the intel with operations to go get them. Saddam Hussein would be one of their targets; al-Douri would another one of those targets. I think we've gotten 44 out of the 55, so their numbers -- they're becoming an endangered species.

SEC. RUMSFELD: But the phrase -- to use the phrase "targeted killing" I think is a misunderstanding of the fact that we're in a war where, obviously, the people who don't surrender, who are terrorists trying to kill innocent Iraqis and coalition forces, are people we want to stop. We would be happy to capture them, we'd be happy to have them surrender, and if they don't, we'd be happy to kill them.

And that's what's going on. But the implication or the connotation of "targeted killing" I think is unfortunate because it suggests an appetite to do that, which is not the case. The goal is to stop terrorists from killing innocent men, women and children, Iraqis, and coalition forces. It seems like a perfectly logical thing to me.

Q But what happened in Afghanistan, sir, doesn't that point out the risks of doing this --

GEN. MYERS: There are risks, there are risks anytime you go after any target. But I can tell you, the kind of vetting that the process goes through, from the beginnings of intelligence to the final operation, is exquisite. And we're not going to be perfect, and we found that out in Afghanistan. And we haven't been perfect.

But I would offer, and would offer again, that both in Afghanistan and Iraq, that the amount of force brought to bear, that the progress that was made, the success we've had, has never been done with more care about bringing innocents into the line of fire. And that will continue. And that's what American service men and women do.

Q Mr. Secretary, can you explain the thinking behind the forming of this Iraqi task force, drawing from militias, to go after high-value targets in Iraq, and where that developed from and the thinking behind it.

SEC. RUMSFELD: I can't do it well; I can do it imperfectly. And I don't know where…