WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Sunday said U.S. troops may be needed in Iraq for years to fight insurgents and to help the Iraqi people win.
"We're not going to win against the insurgency, the Iraqi people will win against the insurgency," Rumsfeld said on "Fox News Sunday," one of three network television news programs he appeared on.
He downplayed an ABC News poll that showed 65 percent of respondents think the U.S. is bogged down and lacks a clear plan to get out of Iraq.
Rumsfeld said war is a "tough, dirty business" and the media was focusing on negatives. "It's just the reporting of the nature of war. It's a tough business. It's a terrible business," Rumsfeld said on "ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, confirmed on CBS's "Face the Nation" that U.S. military officers had met secretly with leaders with links to the insurgency in Iraq.
President Bush plans a major address on Iraq Tuesday.
