WASHINGTON, 9 November 2006 — US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down as Defense Secretary yesterday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses. President George W. Bush conceded his Iraq policy was “not working well enough, fast enough,” after announcing Rumsfeld, 74, was stepping down.
Bush, speaking at a news conference after Democrats won control of the House of Representatives from his Republican Party, said he and Rumsfeld agreed that a “fresh perspective” was needed on Iraq. Tuesday’s election outcome was widely seen as voters’ rebuke to the handling of the unpopular war.
Bush had staunchly supported Rumsfeld, even as the defense chief became more and more of a target for opponents of the administration and even as the criticism grew from inside military circles. A week before Tuesday’s critical midterm elections, Bush said he wanted Rumsfeld to stay until he leaves the White House in 2009.
Initially, Rumsfeld’s Iraqi war plan worked beautifully for three weeks. US troops quickly deposed Saddam Hussein and captured Baghdad with a relatively small force and with lightning speed.
But with Iraq on the verge of civil war three years later, the secretary of defense now admits that no one was well-prepared for what would happen after major combat ended. Bush said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.
Gates will become secretary immediately upon confirmation by the Senate. He previously served as director of Central Intelligence from1991 until 1993, capping a 26-year career in the CIA and the National Security Council.
Gates was nominated to become the director of Central Intelligence in 1987, but withdrew after it became clear that the Senate would reject the nomination because of controversy about his role in the Iran-Contra affair.
