With Rumsfeld in charge, U. Rumsfeld played a leading role ahead of the war in making the case to the world for the March invasion. He warned of the dangers of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction but no such weapons were ever discovered.
Only McNamara served as defense secretary for longer than Rumsfeld, who had two stints - from to under President Gerald Ford, for whom he also served as White House chief of staff, and from to under Bush. Rumsfeld was known for imperious treatment of some military officers and members of Congress and infighting with other members of the Bush team, including Secretary of State Colin Powell. He also alienated U. In , Bush twice refused to accept Rumsfeld's offer to resign after photos surfaced of U.
The scandal triggered international condemnation of the United States. The United States faced global condemnation after the photos showed U. One photo showed a prisoner forced to stand on a small box, his head covered in a black hood, with wires attached to his body.
Rumsfeld personally authorized harsh interrogation techniques for detainees. The U. He was a close ally of Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, who had worked for Rumsfeld during the s Republican presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ford. Rumsfeld became a lightning rod for criticism and, with the Iraq war largely a stalemate and public support eroding, Bush replaced him in November over Cheney's objections. Days after vowing Rumsfeld would remain for the rest of his term, Bush announced his departure a day after mid-term elections in which Democrats took control of Congress from Bush's Republicans amid voter anger over the Iraq War.
Robert Gates, a soft-spoken but demanding former CIA director, took over from Rumsfeld in December and made sweeping strategic and military leadership changes in Iraq. Many historians and military experts blamed Rumsfeld for decisions that led to difficulties in Iraq.
For example, Rumsfeld insisted on a relatively small invasion force, rejecting the views of many generals. Rumsfeld briefs reporters at the Pentagon in April The Iraq War began a month earlier. Rumsfeld puts on a bulletproof jacket while visiting Baghdad, Iraq, in April Rumsfeld signs a Baghdad road sign at the request of a US soldier in April Rumsfeld is briefed by British Major Gen. Rumsfeld briefs reporters at the Pentagon in May Rumsfeld said he condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers as "totally unacceptable and un-American,'' and he said the Defense Department would move vigorously to bring those responsible to justice.
Bush defeated John Kerry to win re-election. Rumsfeld motions to an aide to display a chart detailing production of armored Humvees as he is questioned during his testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee in February He traveled to China for meetings with military and civilian leaders. Rumsfeld told reporters that the United States was not going to abandon Afghanistan. Rumsfeld is escorted by Joanna Hanley, superintendent of the Flight 93 Memorial, as he looks at tributes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in March Rumsfeld listens as Bush speaks to reporters at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, in June Peter Pace for a Pentagon ceremony in December Bush was replacing Rumsfeld as secretary of defense.
Rumsfeld waves after making remarks at his retirement ceremony in December Rumsfeld signs books after speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia in Rumsfeld is interviewed for a documentary about White House chiefs of staff in Rumsfeld and Bush take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial on the September 11 anniversary in Read More. Rumsfeld had an effervescent personality and could be mischievous and cocky, though critics -- including some in the Bush administration -- regarded him as arrogant and a bully.
His Washington legacy is dominated by the Iraq war. Rumsfeld refused to accept blame for or repudiate the conduct of the conflict when conditions deteriorated and US troops faced a vicious insurgency -- after the weapons of mass destruction on which the Bush administration had used to justify the invasion in never materialized. His decision to insist on a "light footprint" for US troops was blamed by many critics for the collapse of the Iraqi state after the US invasion -- conditions that fed the insurgency and fractured security.
Many of his antagonists also held Rumsfeld responsible for the detainee abuse scandal in the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad that severely tarnished America's reputation abroad. He had also predicted that a conflict that in the end dragged on for years would be a short war. US troops did topple the Iraqi regime within weeks but Rumsfeld's critics accused him of having no plan for the aftermath of the invasion.
Rumsfeld died in the week in which President Joe Biden is expected to complete US involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan, which was launched while Rumsfeld was at the Pentagon and is America's longest war.
Bush's speech from his home March 17, , in Washington, DC. Bush praised Rumsfeld in a statement on Wednesday as an "exemplary public servant and a very good man. He brought needed and timely reforms to the Department of Defense, along with a management style that stressed original thinking and accountability. In his second go-around in the Pentagon, Rumsfeld was known for a confrontational attitude toward military brass and the press.
Mr Rumsfeld was among the first to reach the smouldering crash site, and he helped carry the wounded in stretchers. Less than a month later, US forces began an air campaign against al-Qaeda, the group responsible for the attacks, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, toppling the regime within weeks.
The administration's attention then turned to Iraq, which had played no role in the attacks. Mr Rumsfeld made the case for the March invasion, arguing that the country's weapons of mass destruction posed a danger to the world. No such weapons were ever found.
Mr Rumsfeld was known for his rollicking news conferences in which he sparred with reporters. One of the most memorable moments came in , when he gave a much-mocked answer about "known knowns" and "known unknowns" after being asked whether there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
His tenure was also marked by photos that surfaced in of US personnel abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, and the treatment of foreign terrorism suspects at a prison set up at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Mr Rumsfeld, however, largely remained defiant over his record after leaving office. In a memoir, which he titled Known and Unknown, he defended his decisions around the Iraq war but did express regret over some of his comments.
0コメント