Mosul, Dec. 24 (Reuters): Defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld today took a delighted dig at the media after troops he was visiting in Iraq complained their good works were ignored by the press while disasters grabbed the headlines.

A soldier at his first stop in Mosul asked Rumsfeld how the ?propaganda? worked? Rumsfeld, under attack since he appeared to brush aside a question about poor equipment from a US soldier in Kuwait that later turned out to have been composed with help from a reporter, jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables. ?That doesn?t sound like a question placed by the press,? he told his audience to loud applause.

A few hours later in Tikrit, the same frustration surfaced with another soldier complaining that she had a hard time explaining what they were doing in Iraq when she got back home. ?What you?re doing is important. I think the American people get it.?