GUAM, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, currently on a Pacific tour, told U.S. troops in Guam Friday that there are no plans for an early withdrawal from Iraq.
The Secretary said U.S. forces will be in Iraq "as long as necessary" to see that the country is put on a path to democracy, reports the Voice of America.
He spoke one day after Japan delayed sending troops to help U.S.-led peacekeeping operations in Iraq and South Korea decided to limit its troop commitment. Their decisions follow a bombing in Iraq that killed 18 Italians.
Rumsfeld toured an Air Force base on the island, his first stop on a tour that will take him to Japan and South Korea to discuss plans for realigning U.S. forces in the region and the issue of Iraq.
He said Guam remains "an important element of U.S. national security." Guam, a U.S. territory, is strategically located within four hours flying time of the Asian mainland.
The Defense Department is considering stationing an aircraft carrier on Guam to increase its presence in the region. The Navy recently moved two nuclear attack submarines to Guam and is likely to add a third. The U.S. military accounts for about 15 percent of Guam's population of more than 150,000.
