Rumsfeld first casualty of regime change

"Donald Rumsfeld has been a superb leader during a time of change. Yet he also appreciates the value of bringing in a fresh perspective during a critical period in this war." - GEORGE BUSH

Story in full DONALD Rumsfeld, the man described as a lightning rod for George Bush, took a final hit on behalf of the US president yesterday by stepping down in the wake of huge electoral losses for the Republicans in a vote seen as a verdict on the handling of the war in Iraq.

The defence secretary will hand over to former CIA director Robert Gates after a brief but unspecified period of transition, Mr Bush said.

Asked whether the announcement signalled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 US and 121 British troops, the president said: "Well, there's certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon."

But he gave no clear suggestion that the defeat would speed up the timetable for withdrawal. "I want our troops to come home too, but I want them to come home with victory, and that's a country that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself."

Mr Gates, 63, served under President George Bush snr and is a firm family friend.

Mr Bush jnr met Mr Gates last Sunday with a view to offering him the new post in anticipation of a heavy Republican defeat.

At a joint press conference yesterday, Mr Rumsfeld described the Iraq war as a "little-understood, unfamiliar war, the first war of the 21st century".

Addressing the president, he said: "It is not well-known, it was not well understood, it is complex for people to comprehend and I know with certainty that over time the contributions you've made will be recorded by history."

Quoting Winston Churchill, he added: "I have benefited greatly from criticism and at no time have I suffered a lack thereof."

Mr Bush said in tribute: "Donald Rumsfeld has been a superb leader during a time of change. Yet he also appreciates the value of bringing in a fresh perspective during a critical period in this war."

Democrat Representative Ike Skelton, who is expected to chair the House armed services committee next year, said Mr Rumsfeld's resignation "presents an important opportunity for our country to begin a new policy direction in Iraq and in the war on terrorism".

Mr Rumsfeld, the Pentagon chief since 2001, directed the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. He created the Guantanamo Bay jail for foreign terrorist suspects. He presided over the defence department during the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

An alternatively charming and caustic 74-year-old multimillionaire, Mr Rumsfeld wielded a level of influence as defence secretary, rivalled perhaps only by Robert McNamara, who served presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in the Vietnam War era.

Mr Rumsfeld inspired passionate reactions at home and abroad uncommon for a mere cabinet secretary.

Admirers viewed him as a dedicated patriot who reinvigorated a military weakened by insufficient funding in the 1990s; devised innovative war plans that toppled the Taleban leaders of Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

But detractors painted him as a reckless warmonger who botched the Iraq occupation planning; sent too few troops; failed to anticipate a bloody insurgency; put soldiers into combat without enough armour and sullied the US's reputation by sanctioning detainee abuse.

He was heavily criticised for his flippancy when responding to a question about the looting of Baghdad following the 2003 invasion, saying: "stuff happens".

The Iraq war has cost far more than foreseen. More than three years into the war, US troops continue to fight insurgents. More than 2,800 US troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died. Iraq currently costs the US about $8 billion a month.

Mr Rumsfeld alienated some US allies in Europe; maintained icy relations with Democrats; battled with cabinet rivals including former secretary of state, Colin Powell, and intimidated some senior military officers.

He also took aim at war critics - in August, he gave a speech which recalled those who sought to appease the Nazis before the Second World War and asked: "Can folks really continue to think that free countries can negotiate a separate peace with terrorists?"

Many Democrats and a growing number of Republicans had called for him to be replaced.

Earlier this year a group of retired generals demanded his resignation, accusing him of strategic blunders in Iraq and disregarding military advice. In 2004, Mr Bush twice refused to accept Rumsfeld's offer to resign in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal.

POWERFUL PERSONALITY

DONALD Rumsfeld was both the oldest and the youngest defence secretary in US history, having served under Gerald Ford between 1975 and 1977 and under George Bush from 2001.

Under Mr Bush he was also one of the most powerful, wielding a level of influence rivalled perhaps only by Robert McNamara, who served presidents John F Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in the Vietnam War era. Henry Kissinger said Mr Rumsfeld was the most ruthless man he knew.

In the early months of Mr Bush's first term, Mr Rumsfeld used his alternatively charming and caustic personality to push for a revolution in the US military, transforming it into a lighter, more mobile organisation. He met stiff resistance. But after the apparently speedy victories in Afghanistan and Iraq in which lighter forces succeeded against bigger armies, his position was considerably strengthened.

He had little time for the finer points of diplomacy, dismissing France and Germany's opposition to the Iraq invasion as the voices of "old Europe".

In the aftermath of the Iraq war too, he ensured the Pentagon was put in charge of reconstruction instead of the State Department.

Rum sayings: Defence secretary's wit and wisdom

"Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." - On looting in Iraq after the US invasion, adding "stuff happens".

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."

"Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war."

"I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think, and, well, I assume it's what I said."

"As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time."

"If you are not criticised, you may not be doing much."

"It is easier to get into something than to get out of it."