Iraq’s upcoming elections and the U.S. drawdown of troops there later this year will go on undeterred by suicide bombings today and previous attacks like it, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today.

“Neither this attack nor any of the previous attempts to derail the electoral process and to destabilize the government have been or will be successful, nor do we anticipate that it will derail our responsible drawdown of forces in Iraq,” Morrell said at a Pentagon news conference.

The United States has about 96,000 servicemembers in Iraq and will maintain that level in the weeks following the March 7 national elections, Morrell said. That troop strength is necessary to provide for a peaceful transfer of power, he explained. “But once that has been established, we are prepared to draw down dramatically” to get to President Barack Obama’s goal of having 50,000 troops in Iraq by Sept. 1, he said.

Suicide bombers attacked two police stations and a hospital just outside Baghdad in Baqouba early today, reportedly killing dozens of people. “It’s disgraceful, it’s deplorable and we strongly condemn it,” Morrell said of the attack, but he added that it would not deter the election or U.S. troop drawdown.

The elections mark the third time Iraqis have gone to the polls since the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime, and the second time under the current constitution, Morrell noted. They are the first Iraqi national elections to take place without a large-scale insurgency and widespread sectarian violence, and unlike previous elections, he said, no major political parties or ethnic groups are boycotting the elections.

“This is an historic opportunity, and Iraqis recognize it as such,” he said. “We expect participation to be broad across Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian spectrum. “

The United States and international organizations, including the United Nations, are assisting the Iraqi Independent High Commission as needed, “although frankly, they haven’t needed much,” Morrell said. Iraqi forces are leading security efforts, he told reporters, and U.S. stand ready to assist them if called upon.

“The bottom line is, this is the Iraqis’ election, and all indications are that they are more than prepared to pull it off,” he said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell speaks with reporters at the Pentagon.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will stay in office for at least another year, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell confirmed yesterday.

Gates met with President Barack Obama before Christmas and committed to another year on the job, Morrell said.

Then-President George W. Bush nominated Gates for the job in December 2006, and Obama asked the secretary to remain as defense secretary when his administration began in January 2009. Gates is the only Cabinet member to span both administrations.

Gates has worked to remake the way the Defense Department does business, and another year in office will give him another opportunity to shape the department’s budget. In the fiscal 2010 budget, for example, the secretary recommended ending the F-22 Raptor program and concentrating on the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter. He also ended the Army’s Future Combat System and pledged the money to other Army programs.

He drove the effort to buy and rapidly deploy mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to protect servicemembers in Iraq from roadside bombs and to provide all-terrain versions of the vehicles for troops in Afghanistan.

Gates took over at a tough time for the department, reports AFPS’ Jim Garamone. The troop surge in Iraq was just getting under way, and casualties in the fighting were mounting. Gates also was in charge when revelations about substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center came out. He fired the Army secretary, the service’s surgeon general and the commander at the facility. He has concentrated attention on care for wounded warriors and putting in place systems so the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs can work together.

Amid concerns over the Air Force’s handling of its nuclear weapons, Gates asked for and received the resignations of the service’s secretary and chief of staff in June 2008.

More recently, Gates has been instrumental in developing the new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy.

As with any appointed official, Morrell noted, Gates serves at the pleasure of the president.

“[The president and Gates] agreed to revisit this issue again later this year, but for all intents and purposes, their original agreement still stands: he serves at the pleasure of the president indefinitely, and he is honored to do so, though he certainly looks forward to one day retiring to his family home in the Pacific Northwest,” Morrell said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell speaks with reporters at the Pentagon.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell today expressed concern over Iran’s reported test-fire yesterday of a medium-range missile, saying it undermines Tehran’s claim of peaceful intentions regarding its nuclear program, according to AFPS’ John J. Kruzel.

Morrell said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has seen the intelligence on the launch, which reportedly involved a Sajjil-2 rocket that has the range to hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf.

“This is just the latest in a series of provocative actions by Iran, all seemingly oblivious to the scrutiny of the international community, or perhaps more likely, in spite of it,” Morrell told Pentagon reporters today.

The test-fire comes after President Barack Obama last month underscored that the government in Tehran must provide assurances to the international community that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and transparent.

Obama said the so-called P5-plus-1 partners are unified on the position, referring to the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations of Great Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany. The International Atomic Energy Agency also rebuked Iran last month after it failed to provide information about the purpose of a previously secret nuclear site.

“I think there’s no doubt that given this environment, missile tests do nothing but undermine Iranian claims,” White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said today. “They’re not productive. The Iranians still have the opportunity to live up to their responsibilities. If they don’t, then time will run out, and we will move to the next step.”

Morrell said the missile test subverts Iran’s credibility. “At a time when the international community has offered Iran opportunities to begin to build trust and confidence, Iran’s missile test only undermined Iran’s claims of peaceful intentions,” he said.

The provocation yesterday strengthens the resolve of the international community, including China and Russia, to pursue sanctions on Iran if it fails to show progress by the year’s end, in keeping with deadline Obama laid out, Morrell said.

“So we are we’re watching closely,” he added, “and we are concerned.”

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says if President Obama decides to send more troops to Afghanistan it’s expected that NATO will do the same.

A Pentagon spokesman says Defense Secretary Robert Gates is waiting like everyone else to see if President Obama will send more troops to Afghanistan.

Deadlines are approaching for mailing packages to servicemembers in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas locations by Christmas.

The Coast Guard is still searching for nine servicemembers involved in a mid-air collision off the coast of California.

Geoff Morrell comments on recent deaths in Iraq.

Search teams in California are looking for nine people following a mid-air collision of a Coast Guard transport plane and a Navy helicopter.

An update on Afghan election preparations.