June 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said insurgent violence in Iraq may continue for a decade or longer and ending the deadly attacks is the responsibility of Iraqi forces, not U.S. troops.

``That insurgency could go on for any number of years,'' Rumsfeld said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program today. ``Coalition forces, foreign forces are not going to repress that insurgency. We're going to create an environment that the Iraqi people and the Iraqi security forces can win against that insurgency.''

Rumsfeld, who was interviewed on four U.S. television news shows, also said U.S. officials have met with representatives of some insurgent groups as part of an effort to help the recently elected government ``bring in'' Iraqi Sunni Muslims who are fighting to drive the U.S. out. Asked about a report in the Sunday Times of London about two such sessions, Rumsfeld said similar meetings ``go on all the time.''

U.S. and Iraqi forces have struggled to quell an uprising that has killed more than 1,000 people since April 28. Three suicide bombings today in northwestern Iraq killed 33, the Associated Press reported, and a U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Since the start of the conflict, at least 1,729 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq.

Bush Address

June 28 marks a year since the U.S. returned sovereignty to Iraqi authorities. President George W. Bush plans a nationally televised address to the nation about Iraq that day from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, amid congressional criticism of his administration's assessments of the war's progress and calls for a new strategy.

``The status quo to me is just simply not working,'' Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program.

``No one is really talking about cutting and running,'' Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, another Democratic critic, said on the same program. The current policy ``is just not working'' and Bush must outline what he plans to do on security, reconstruction and diplomacy in Iraq.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the administration's congressional allies, warned Rumsfeld during a hearing last week that public support for the war is dwindling.

Prolonged Battle

Rumsfeld said while Iraq may face a prolonged battle against the insurgents, whom he described as a combination of people loyal to ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, foreign terrorists and criminals, the uprising won't succeed.

``Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years,'' Rumsfeld said.

He said on ABC's ``This Week'' program that there is ``no contradiction at all'' between a statement made by Vice President Dick Cheney on May 31 that the Iraq insurgency is in its ``last throes'' and last week's congressional testimony by military commanders that the violent opposition is as strong now as it was six months ago.

The violence may also increase as the transition government in Iraq draws closer to drafting a constitution and holding elections for a new government later this year, he said. While daily attacks continue to claim the lives of U.S. troops, their Iraqi allies and civilians, the political progress in Iraq is ``amazing,'' Rumsfeld said.

``The terrorists have no vision,'' Rumsfeld said on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' program. ``They have no Ho Chi Minh. They have no Mao. They don't have any cause.'' Killing Iraqi people and opposing an elected Iraqi government ``isn't any long-term formula for success,'' Rumsfeld said.

No Timetable

One sign of that progress, he said, was the decision of leaders of Iraq's Sunni Muslim factions to take part in the transitional government, which is dominated by Iraq's Shiite majority.

Still, setting a schedule for pulling U.S. troops out of the country would be a mistake, Rumsfeld said on ABC. ``It just tells the enemy, `Wait us out.'''

The Sunday Times, citing unidentified Iraqis familiar with the situation, reported that four U.S. officials met with leaders of Iraqi insurgent groups on June 3 and June 13 as part of an effort sought to separate local insurgents from foreign militants. Agence France-Presse reported today that one of the insurgent groups named in the article, Ansar al-Sunna, denied on its Web site that it participated.

The talks were aimed at negotiating a breakthrough that may lead to a reduction in violence in Iraq, and more meetings are planned, the London-based newspaper said. Time magazine reported in February that U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials have held direct, secret talks with insurgent groups.

While refusing to directly confirm the newspaper's report, Rumsfeld said the U.S. would not negotiate with terrorists and militants from outside Iraq, such as Jordanian Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, leader of the al-Qaeda faction in Iraq.

``The Iraqis have a sovereign government,'' he said. ``They will decide what their relationships with various elements of insurgents will be. We facilitate those from time to time.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeffrey St.Onge in New York at jstonge@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 26, 2005 15:31 EDT