The United States is in for a 'long hard slog' in Iraq and Afghanistan, says a memo sent by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to senior defence officials last week.

Despite upbeat statements by the Bush administration, the memo to Rumsfeld's top staff reveals significant doubts about the progress in the struggle against terrorists, says a USA Today report.

In his memo, Rumsfeld says the US has no yardstick for measuring progress in the war on terrorism and has not 'yet made truly bold moves' in fighting Al Qaeda and other terror groups.

It is not possible to transform the Pentagon quickly enough to effectively fight the anti-terror war and that a 'new institution' might be necessary to do that, the memo says.

"Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terror?" Rumsfeld asks in the Octpber 16 memo, which goes on to cite mixed results against Al Qaeda, reasonable progress tracking down top Iraqis and somewhat slower progress in apprehending Taliban leaders. "Is our current situation such that 'the harder we work, the behinder we get'? " he wrote.

In the two-page memo, Rumsfeld observes that the US is just getting started in fighting the Iraq-based terror group Ansar Al-Islam.

The war is hugely expensive, he says. "The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' cost of millions."

While "it is pretty clear the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog."

The memo was sent to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Marine General Peter Pace and Undersecretary of Defence Douglas Feith, said USA Today.