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Bombings Mark Gates' Iraq Visit

Blasts kill 23 as Gates says secure Iraq is 'within reach'

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 5, 2007 3:47 PM CST

(Newser) – In an unannounced visit to Iraq today, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he believed stability there is a reachable goal, even as car bombs claimed 23 lives in Baghdad and elsewhere, Reuters reports. "More than ever, I believe that the goal of a secure, stable, and democratic Iraq is within reach,” Gates told a Baghdad news conference.

"We need to be patient,” Gates said. “We also need to be absolutely resolved in our desire to see the nascent signs of hope across Iraq expand and flourish.” Gates urged the continued incorporation of Sunni neighborhood patrols into the army and police forces. The Iraqi administration earlier today announced that 45,000 patrol members would be on government payrolls by 2008.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, take part in a joint news conference, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Pool, Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, take part in a joint news conference, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Pool, Haraz N. Ghanbari)   (Associated Press)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, followed by Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, left, arrive for a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, at the presidential palace in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Pool, Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, followed by Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, left, arrive for a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Wednesday, Dec....   (Associated Press)
From left, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, Mary Beth Long, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, senior military assistant to the secretary of defense and Army Gen. David Petreaus, commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, listen to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Iraqi Defense Minister...
From left, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, Mary Beth Long, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, senior military assistant to...   (Associated Press)
Army Pvt. Thomas Smith, assigned to A Troop, 1-113th Cav., Iowa Army National Guard, patrols a street near a location where Defense Secretary Robert Gates is visiting, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Pool, Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Army Pvt. Thomas Smith, assigned to A Troop, 1-113th Cav., Iowa Army National Guard, patrols a street near a location where Defense Secretary Robert Gates is visiting, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, in Baghdad,...   (Associated Press)
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