The Hindu : Attacks won't deter us, says Bremer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

International

International

Attacks won't deter us, says Bremer

WASHINGTON June 25. The American administrator in Iraq said today he would not be deterred by a ``few fanatics'' bent on wrecking U.S. peace efforts in Iraq and his team would stay there until their job was done.

In interviews with U.S. television networks from Baghdad, Paul Bremer rejected criticism the United States had failed to secure post-war Iraq and said U.S. reconstruction plans were on target.

``Regrettable as these attacks are and it certainly is important for us to stop them, the fact of the matter is we are on programme here. We will proceed and we are not going to be deterred by a few fanatics,'' Mr. Bremer told NBC's `Today' show. He said it was unclear who was behind the latest attacks.

``Look, it's important to take this all a little bit in perspective, it seems to me. Look at what we have accomplished in the last 12 weeks,'' said Mr. Bremer. He said U.S. troops had fought a successful, short war, with few U.S. casualties. In addition, oil wells were pumping again, basic services had been restored and he was in the process of installing a government. Asked to respond to criticism the U.S. was unprepared for the reconstruction of Iraq, Mr. Bremer said it was a tough job. ``It's not that nobody was prepared. It's that it's a tough job and I think that's what people ought to focus on,'' he said. — Reuters

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