Rumsfeld in Baghdad to show US support for new PM

BAGHDAD, Apr 26 : US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sought to show US support for Iraq's new leadership today, making an unannounced visit to Baghdad just days after Shi'ite politician Jawad al-Maliki was chosen as premier.

Rumsfeld swooped into the capital aboard a military cargo plane for his first visit to Iraq in 2006.

''The reason we're going into Iraq is because this is a very significant time and ... the president (George W Bush) asked us to go in to show support for this new government,'' Pentagon press secretary Eric Ruff told reporters travelling with Rumsfeld.

The United States has urged Maliki, nominated as prime minister on Friday by Iraq's ruling Shi'ite Alliance, to get a new cabinet in place as soon as possible.

Elections were held in December, but Iraqi leaders agreed only last week to form a new coalition government after four months of political wrangling amid worsening sectarian violence and a raging insurgency.

Rumsfeld, who last visited Iraq in December, was due to meet top Iraqi officials as well as US Army General George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, and other military officers.

Rumsfeld's trip comes as US military commanders contemplate reducing the number of American troops in the country in the coming months. There are about 132,000 American troops in Iraq at present.

Rumsfeld indicated earlier this week that the Pentagon intended to stick with plans to reduce the size of the US military presence, but he gave no specific numbers nor a timetable.

Opinion polls show US public support for the three-year-old Iraq war eroding, which is contributing to a drop in President George W Bush's job approval ratings.

Rumsfeld himself has weathered a storm of criticism from six retired generals who have demanded his dismissal, accusing him of disregarding military advice, ruling by intimidation and making strategic blunders.

Reuters