Iraqis welcome resignation of unpopular Rumsfeld

IRAQIS yesterday cheered the resignation of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, blaming him for policy failures and scandals they say helped spawn the daily sectarian carnage wracking their nation.

“Rumsfeld’s resignation shows the scale of the mess the US has made in Iraq,” said Ibrahim Ali, 44, who works at the Oil Ministry. “The efforts by American politicians to hide their failure are no longer working.”

Iraq’s government has yet to comment on Rumsfeld’s resignation, announced Wednesday after the Democratic Party won a sweeping victory in midterm elections in which voter discontent over the war in Iraq played a major role.