 On 27 February 2003, it was announced that the U.S. would be allowed to launch warplanes with offensive ordnance from its bases inside Saudi Arabia to support the Iraq War – and would in turn begin a phased withdrawal from the country.On 29 April 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced that he would be withdrawing U.S. troops from the country, stating that the Iraq War no longer required the support installations within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz had earlier said that the continuing U.S. presence in the kingdom was also putting American lives in danger.