U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Thursday condemned the bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, while insisting that coalition troops and newly-constituted Iraqi forces will eventually restore security to the country.
Mr. Powell says he telephoned Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher to convey U.S. regret over the injuries to Jordanian Embassy staff members, and the deaths of Iraqi police officers and others at the scene.
At a Washington news conference, the secretary said that, despite the bombing and the killing of two more U.S. servicemen in Iraq Thursday, coalition forces will over time be able to deal with Baath party holdouts and others he said are trying to deny Iraqis peace and better life.
"As time goes by, they will learn more and more and more about the nature of the threat that's out there, who's responsible for these attacks," he said. "And slowly but surely, they will isolate them, get them, and bring the security situation under control."
Mr. Powell predicted that Saddam Hussein will be located "in due course," though he cautioned that this in itself, like the deaths of his sons last month, would not solve the security situation.