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Rumsfeld Assures Afghanistan of U.S. Commitment

By John Hendren
Published December 22, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld presents medals to Sgt. Ryan Pummill (R), Sgt. John Irick and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Steven Burr at Bagram Air Field near Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 22.
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Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld presents medals to Sgt. Ryan Pummill (R), Sgt. John Irick and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Steven Burr at Bagram Air Field near Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 22.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is in Afghanistan Thursday, where he addressed U.S. troops at the Bagram Air Base.

Rumsfeld acknowledged plans to reduce the number of American forces stationed in Afghanistan next year, but expressed disapproval of any speedy withdrawals from either Afghanistan or Iraq.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

John Hendren
John Hendren began covering the Pentagon for NPR in November 2005. His reports can be heard throughout NPR News programming and newscasts.