April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, (Left) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, pause a moment to look at a scrolling list of names of American service members that have perished to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom. To date, 96 American service members have given their lives in defense of Operation Iraqi Freedom. © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld  answers a reporter's question about the fate of Iraqi General Ali Hassan al-Majid, the architect of the 1988 genocide of Iraqi Kurds, who has come to be known as "Chemical Ali". The Secretary replied, "We believe that the reign of terror of 'Chemical Ali' has come to an end. To Iraqis who have suffered at his hand, particularly in the last few weeks in that southern part of the country, he will never again terrorize you or your families." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld answers a reporter's question about the the substances found at a training camp in central Iraq between Karbala and Hilla that apparently include nerve agents sarin and tabun, and the blister agent lewisite. The Secretary replied, "We don't do first reports and we don't speculate. And I can tell you it takes days to get samples of things from wherever they are in the battlefield into a first place where they take a look, and then to a second place where things get checked. And I think that the prudent thing in a case like this would be to kind of let the thing play itself out and we'll see what's -- we'll eventually know." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, (Left) listens to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, (Right) comment on the over 150 wounded American service members that have been hurt during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The General Stated, "And as the secretary said, I was out at Walter Reed when he was over at Bethesda Hospital. I met some of these brave Americans yesterday. Each and every time I visit them, I guess I'm amazed at their dedication and their strength. Often, their primary concern is to want to rejoin their comrades as quickly as possible. So, I think we all thank them for their inspiration and their service to our nation. And to their families, as well, we thank them, many of whom were there yesterday." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, answers a question as to whether or not he endorses the Iraqi opposition leader, Ahmad Chalabi for any role in the post war government of Iraq. The Secretary replied, "Of course not. I just said that the Iraqi people are going to make these decisions. Clearly, the United States is not going to impose a government on Iraq." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld calls on a reporter during today's daily Pentagon briefing on the progress of coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom. © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, answers a question as to when he would feel comfortable declaring victory in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Secretary replied, "That's a tough question. And my guess is, it would be later rather than sooner, simply because it's a big country, and the idea that you could conclude that the kinetic aspects were over without having really done a good deal of work around the country, it seems to me, would be inappropriate, and it conceivably also would be misleading, which would be unfortunate." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers answers a reporter's question as to what is being done about "Friendly Fire" incidents in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The General replied, "Well, the way it's being handled is Central Command is handling that, and so they're going to go through the investigation. I'm sure if they can determine -- or, if they were to determine that it was not a mistake but some sort of other motivation, perhaps, then that might apply. I'm not aware of that in any of these cases and I think we have to let the investigations go on. It will, you know -- getting all the facts with people that are still engaged in combat will be probably more difficult than a peacetime scenario or one that maybe is not less engaged in combat." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, answers a question about the current status of Iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein. The Secretary replied, "There are three possibilities: He's either dead or injured or not willing to show himself." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld gives his opening remarks at the start of the daily Pentagon press briefing on the status of coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Secretary compared the Iraqi army tactics to coalition tactics. The Secretary stated, "If one contrasts the noble example of the fine young men and women on the scroll behind me with the conduct of the Iraqi regime, regime death squads have used schools as armories, and hospitals as military headquarters. They have executed POWs. They use children as human shields. And they have forced civilians to fight at gunpoint, executing those who refused. They are moving their artillery into residential neighborhoods in Baghdad, hoping to draw coalition fire. By contrast, coalition forces have demonstrated their respect for the Iraqi people, going to extraordinary lengths to protect innocent lives and to safeguard Muslim holy sites." © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld (left), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers (right), discuss the answer to a question about Operation Iraqi Freedom. © Mike Lynaugh
April 7, 2003 - Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, answers a reporter's question about the status of American progress in the war in Iraq. © Mike Lynaugh