But Hadley downplayed the
opinion of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said in a November 6
memo that a "major adjustment" was needed. The memo, dated two days
before Rumsfeld's resignation was announced, offered the White House a variety
of options on Iraq. Among them: a "modest" withdrawal of U.S. troops,
to let Iraq's leaders know "they have to pull up their socks, step up and
take responsibility for their country."
"In my view, it is time for a major adjustment,"
Rumsfeld wrote. "Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is
not working well enough or fast enough." Hadley
called the Rumsfeld memo "useful and constructive." But he cautioned,
"It was not a proposal for a new course of action. It was much more a list
of things that needed to be considered." A source familiar with the
nonpartisan Iraq Study Group said last week it will recommend a "gradual
but meaningful" reduction of U.S. troops begin "relatively early in
the new year."