IRAQ - Rumsfeld Pays Farewell Visit.

Outgoing US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Dec. 9 made a surprise trip to Iraq just days after a report said that US policy there was not working. "For the past six years, I have had the opportunity and, I would say the privilege, to serve with the greatest military on the face of the Earth", Rumsfeld told more than 1,200 soldiers in the Anbar air base. He said the US military's true strength was the patriotic, professional and determined US troops in Iraq. He added: "I leave understanding that the true strength of the United States military is not in Washington...It's in the hearts of the men and women who serve".

Former CIA chief Robert Gates will replace him after Dec. 17. Rumsfeld also met with US forces in Balad, north of Baghdad. The trip followed an emotional farewell on Dec. 8 at the Pentagon, where he defended his record on Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the worst day of his nearly six years as secretary of defence occurred when he learned of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse.

In its report, the ISG took direct aim at Rumsfeld, saying the long tradition of military-civilian leader partnership must be repaired. It urged Gates to "make every effort" to encourage military officers to offer independent advice, and recommended a pullback of all US troops by early 2008.