Former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who oversaw Iraq war, dies aged 88

Donald Rumsfeld in 2011
Donald Rumsfeld in 2011 Copyright Wally Santana/AP
By Euronews with AP
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Donald Rumsfeld, who served four US presidents, oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 and was blamed for the long and costly war that followed.

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The family of former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he has died at the age of 88.

Rumsfeld oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

The two-time defense secretary and one-time presidential candidate's reputation as a skilled bureaucrat and visionary of a modern US military was soiled by the long and costly Iraq war.

Regarded by former colleagues as equally smart and combative, patriotic and politically cunning, Rumsfeld had a storied career under four presidents and nearly a quarter of a century in corporate America.

In 2001 he began his second tour as Pentagon chief under President George W Bush, but his plan to “transform” the armed forces was overshadowed by the September 11 terrorist attacks.

He oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, where he was blamed for setbacks including the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and for being slow to recognise a violent insurgency.

After retiring in 2008 he headed the Rumsfeld Foundation to promote public service and to work with charities that provide services and support for military families and wounded veterans.

He built a network of loyalists who admired his work ethic, intelligence and impatience with all who failed to share his sense of urgency.

Rumsfeld is the only person to serve twice as Pentagon chief. The first time, in 1975-77, he was the youngest ever. The next time, in 2001-06, he was the oldest.

He made a brief run for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination, a spectacular flop that he once described as humbling for a man used to success at the highest levels of the government, including stints as White House chief of staff, US ambassador, and member of Congress.

For all his achievements, it was the setbacks in Iraq in the twilight of his career that will likely etch the most vivid features of his legacy.

Nine months into his second tour as defense secretary, the September 11 terror attacks took place, thrusting the nation into wars for which the military was ill-prepared. Rumsfeld oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan and toppling of the Taliban regime.

Frequently presiding at televised briefings on the war, Rumsfeld became something of a TV star, applauded for his blunt talk and uncompromising style.

By 2002 the Bush administration’s attention shifted to Iraq, which played no role in the September 11 attacks. The war effort in Afghanistan took a back seat to Iraq, opening the way for the Taliban to make a comeback and prevent the US from sealing the success of its initial invasion.

The US-led invasion of Iraq was launched in March 2003. Baghdad fell quickly, but US and allied forces soon became consumed with a violent insurgency. Critics faulted Rumsfeld for dismissing the pre-invasion assessment of the Army’s top general, Eric Shinseki, that several hundred thousand allied troops would be needed to stabilise Iraq.

Rumsfeld twice offered his resignation to President George W Bush in 2004 amid disclosures that US troops had abused detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison — an episode he later referred to as his darkest hour as defense secretary.

Not until November 2006, after Democrats gained control of Congress by riding a wave of antiwar sentiment, did Bush finally decide Rumsfeld had to go. He left office in December, replaced by Robert Gates.

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