U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Friday belatedly criticized Spain for the way it withdrew its troops from Iraq last year. The outspoken Rumsfeld, asserting that he had lost his diplomatic touch, said it was "not impressive" how Spain withdrew its troops abruptly. At a Pentagon townhall meeting, in which he took questions from soldiers, Rumsfeld responded to an inquiry about the announced withdrawal of Polish and Italian troops from Iraq. "I expect that there will continue, as there has been really from the outset, countries that reduce their forces from the coalition in both Iraq and Afghanistan, countries that increase their forces, and new countries that enter," Rumsfeld said. He said "many countries" have approached the U.S. and indicated that they would not be able to sustain their commitment in Iraq. Rumsfeld added that the U.S. had worked with these countries to shift troops and resources. Rumsfeld lauded the coalition partners, saying they "have been terrific". Joint Chief of Staffs Vice Chairman General Peter Pace, who also appeared at the event, stressed that Italy and Poland, by withdrawing their troops from Iraq, are not leaving the coalition. "The fact that a particular troop level changes does not at all signify that a particular country has made a decision to leave the coalition," he stated. Rumsfeld also said that the success of the Bush administration's war on terrorism "will depend on the size of the coalition, how many countries are helping - really helping - and that's something in excess of 85 countries now." ---SP 2350 Local Time 2050 GMT
