- Donald Drumsfield announced the death of his family on Wednesday at the age of 88.
- He served as Secretary of Defense of George W. Bush (2001-2006).
- From 1975 to 1977, he was the youngest secretary of defense under the leadership of Gerald Ford.
Donald Drumsfield served as Secretary of Defense for former President George W. Bush. He was the mastermind of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the US terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. His family died on December 11, 2001 at the age of 88. . on Wednesday.
The statement said: “We are deeply saddened to share the news of the death of American politician, loyal husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather Donald Drumsfield.” “At the age of 88, he was surrounded by his family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico. .”
The statement did not say when Rumsfeld died.
After serving as the youngest secretary of defense under former President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977, he was Bush’s secretary of defense from 2001 to 2006 for his second time.
“History may remember him for his extraordinary achievements in 6 years of public service, but for those who know him best and change their lives forever, we will remember him for his wife Joyce, his family and The unwavering love of friends and Rumsfeld’s family said in a statement on Twitter that he brought integrity to a life dedicated to the country.
Rumsfeld and Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, were tied for the most powerful person in this position. He brought charm and rhetoric to the work of the Pentagon, reflecting the Bush administration’s hardline attitude towards world affairs.
With Rumsfeld in power, the U.S. forces quickly overthrew Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but failed to maintain law and order afterwards. Iraq fell into chaos, and a bloody rebellion broke out between Sunni and Shia Muslims. And violence.
Long after he left office, the US military remained in Iraq until 2011.
Rumsfeld played a leading role before the war and proved to the world the invasion of March 2003. He warned of the dangers of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but never discovered such weapons.
Only McNamara served as Secretary of Defense longer than Rumsfeld, who had two terms-from 1975 to 1977 under the leadership of President Gerald Ford, he also served as the White House Office Director, under Bush’s leadership from 2001 to 2006.
Severe interrogation
Rumsfeld is known for his imperious treatment of some military officers and members of Congress, as well as infighting with other members of the Bush team, including Secretary of State Colin Powell. He also alienated American allies in Europe.
In 2004, after photos of US personnel abusing prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad surfaced, Bush twice refused to accept Rumsfeld’s resignation proposal. This scandal triggered condemnation of the United States by the international community.
The photo shows the US military smiling, laughing and giving thumbs up when prisoners are forced into sexual abuse and insulting positions (including naked pyramids and simulated sexual acts). The US faces global condemnation.
A photo shows a prisoner being forced to stand on a small box with a black hood on his head and wires attached to his body.
Rumsfeld personally authorized severe interrogation of detainees. The U.S. treatment of detainees in Iraq and suspects of foreign terrorism in a special prison set up under the leadership of U.S. Naval Base Rumsfeld in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has aroused international condemnation. Human rights activists and others say that the prisoners have been tortured. .
He is a close ally of Bush Vice President Dick Cheney, who worked for Rumsfeld when he represented Chad Nixon and Ford as Republican presidents in 1970.
Rumsfeld became a lightning rod for criticism. As the Iraq War largely stalemate, public support gradually weakened. Bush replaced him in November 2006 with Cheney’s opposition.
After vowing that Rumsfeld will remain in office for a few days for the remainder of his term, Bush announced his departure the day after the midterm elections. In the election, Democrats controlled Congress from Bush’s Republicans because voters Angry at the Iraq war.
Robert Gates is a gentle but demanding former CIA director who succeeded Rumsfeld in December 2006 and underwent a comprehensive strategic and military leadership change in Iraq.
Invaded Afghanistan
Many historians and military experts accused Rumsfeld’s decision of causing Iraq to fall into trouble.
For example, Rumsfeld insisted on a relatively small invasion force and rejected the opinions of many generals. When Saddam fell from power, this force was not enough to stabilize Iraq.
Rumsfeld was also accused of failing to recognize the emergence of the 2003 rebellion and the threat it posed.
The American occupation leader L. Paul Bremer under Rumsfeld quickly made two decisive decisions. One disbanded the Iraqi army and sent thousands of armed men to the streets instead of using Iraqi soldiers as a reconstruction force as originally planned.
The second prohibits entry of the Iraqi government and even junior members of the former ruling Baath Party, basically emptied the ministries and commissions of the people that make the government work.
Rumsfeld also oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to expel Taliban leaders who harbored al-Qaeda leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States. As he did in Iraq two years later, Rumsfeld sent a small force to Afghanistan, quickly ousted the Taliban from power, and subsequently failed to establish law and order.
During Rumsfeld’s tenure, the U.S. military also failed to find Osama bin Laden. In December 2001, the al-Qaeda leader brushed past a small force of US special operations forces and CIA officials and Allied Afghan fighters in the Tora Bora Mountains of Afghanistan. In 2011, the US military killed him.
Critics believe that if Rumsfeld invests more troops in Afghanistan’s efforts, bin Laden may have been captured. But as he wrote in the Rumsfeld Rules, he compiled a cliché dating back to the 1970s: “If you are not criticized, you may not do much.”
Another sentence in the “Rumsfeld Rule” is equally relevant:
It’s easier to get into something than to get out.
Rumsfeld is known for his cheerful press conferences, where he quarrels with reporters and provides memorable quotes.
In 2002, when talking about whether Iraq would provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, he said: “I have always been interested in reports that some things have not happened because we know that there are known things. There are some things. We know that we know that. We also know that there are known unknowns. In other words, we know some things that we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns — those that we don’t know we don’t know.”
Rumsfeld later named his memoir “Known and Unknown”.
“Something happened,” he told reporters in April 2003 that Baghdad was lawless after the U.S. forces occupied the Iraqi capital.
While leaving public service, Rumsfeld became rich as a successful businessman, serving as chief executive officer of two Fortune 500 companies. In 1988, he briefly ran for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
Rumsfeld also served as a naval pilot, US NATO ambassador, and was elected to the US House of Representatives. He and his wife Joyce have three children.
*Reported by Reuters and Al Jazeera