‘Sometimes it’s necessary to have fresh perspective’
The Iraq war was the central issue of Mr Rumsfeld’s nearly six-year tenure, and unhappiness with the war was a major element of voter dissatisfaction Tuesday — and the main impetus for his departure. Even some GOP lawmakers in Congress became critical of the war’s management, and growing numbers of politicians were urging Mr Bush to replace Mr Rumsfeld.
Bush said former CIA director Robert M Gates, 63, who has served in a variety of national security jobs under six previous presidents, would be nominated to replace Mr Rumsfeld. Mr Gates, president of Texas A&M University, is a Bush family friend and a member of an independent group studying the way ahead in Iraq.
“Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that sometimes it’s necessary to have a fresh perspective,” Mr Bush said during a postelection news conference.
In a later appearance at the White House with Mr Rumsfeld and Mr Gates at his side, Mr Bush praised both men, thanked Mr Rumsfeld for his service and predicted that Mr Gates would bring fresh ideas.
“The Secretary of Defence must be a man of vision who can see threats still over the horizon and prepare our nation to meet them. Bob Gates is the right man to meet both of these critical challenges,” Mr Bush said.
In brief remarks, Mr Rumsfeld described the Iraq conflict as a “little understood, unfamiliar war” that is “complex for people to comprehend”.
Asked if Mr Rumsfeld’s departure signalled a new direction in a war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 US troops and cost over $300 billion, Mr Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon.”
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Mr Rumsfeld was not leaving immediately. No date was given for his departure.
Just last week, Mr Bush told reporters he expected Mr Rumsfeld, 74, to remain until the end of the administration’s term. And although Mr Bush said yesterday that his decision to replace Mr Rumsfeld was not based on politics, the announcement of a Pentagon shakeup came on the heels of Tuesday’s election defeat to the Democrats.
With his often-combative defence of the war in Iraq, Mr Rumsfeld had been the administration’s face of the conflict. He became more of a target — and more politically vulnerable — as the war grew increasingly unpopular at home amid rising violence and with no end in sight.
Gates ran the CIA under the first President Bush during the first Gulf war. He retired from government in 1993.
Sen Carl Levin of Michigan and Rep Ike Skelton of Missouri — the top Democrats on the Armed Services committees — said that the resignation would only be a positive step if accompanied by a change in policy.
