One of Ours

A former officer in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard should not have been named to lead a military brigade in the tense Iraqi city of Fallujah, Pentagon officials said Tuesday...

...Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at a news conference that "public vetting" has been used for many Iraqi officials.

"You try to vet against a list, a database. But the real vetting comes when someone's head pops up. People look at him and say, `No, no.'" he said...

...Rumsfeld said he was told that Saleh had been recommended by someone on the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. U.S. Central Command asked Saleh to begin organizing Iraqis in Fallujah, Rumsfeld said. "He had some success."

But concerns about Saleh's past led to his removal as commander. He will likely be replaced by Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abdul-Latif, a former military intelligence officer who was imprisoned by Saddam...

...Col. John Coleman, chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the western Anbar province that includes Fallujah, said Saleh will be part of the 1,000-member Fallujah Brigade.

Rumsfeld said U.S. forces "intend to take back the city and conduct joint patrols in the immediate future." He said that could happen "by force by the U.S. Marines" or through peaceful means, "but one way or another it will be done."