Donald H Rumsfeld

Donald H. Rumsfeld used his farewell address as Defense secretary Friday to warn against a weakening of American will in Iraq, saying a withdrawal of troops may provide short-term relief from U.S. casualties but would only embolden extremist enemies. Joined by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at a Pentagon ceremony, Rumsfeld rejected criticism of his conduct of the war, saying a failure to project military strength would only make the U.S. more vulnerable.

In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war. The memos, often referred to as "snowflakes," shed light on Rumsfeld's brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief.

For much of the last six years, a question-and-answer session with Donald H. Rumsfeld was the best show in town. The combative Defense secretary's bristling self-assurance made the Pentagon Briefing Room one of the hottest seats in Washington. The Bush administration's erstwhile rock star delivered his last major performance Friday, as feisty and quotable as when he began.

The head of the British army during the Iraq invasion described former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's approach as "intellectually bankrupt," according to comments published Saturday. Gen. Mike Jackson, who retired in August 2006 as chief of the general staff, says in his autobiography that Rumsfeld was "one of those most responsible for the current situation in Iraq," according to excerpts published by the Daily Telegraph.

Twice weekly, sometimes more, he stands at the Pentagon podium, eyes squinted and nose crinkled against the Klieg lights, facing a firing squad of some 80 reporters. Except in this verbal standoff, he's usually the one holding the guns. Donald H. Rumsfeld, who pre-Sept.

It's hard to define exactly the poetry that is Donald H. Rumsfeld. There is a certain beauty in the way the secretary of Defense glissades through a media briefing, sure, with not quite William Wordsworth-like turns of simplicity but, rather, a style that purrs noblesse oblige. There is a rhythm to his utterances that is not exactly Whitmanesque but, instead, peculiarly Rumsfeldian.

Donald H. Rumsfeld has won two wars and won them his way, overruling military traditionalists. But to the secretary of Defense, Afghanistan and Iraq were merely two battles in a larger crusade. Even as he directs military operations around the world, Rumsfeld has seized a leading role in the national security debate in Washington, giving the Pentagon new clout in administration debates on foreign policy and intelligence. He has set out to "transform" the military establishment.

Washington intends to deepen its military and counter-terrorism ties with Algeria, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a stopover in Algiers. Rumsfeld avoided saying whether relations with Algeria were dependent on political reforms. An Islamist uprising that began after authorities canceled legislative elections in 1992 has killed more than 150,000 people.

Rumsfeld post -- Donald H. Rumsfeld was misidentified in a quotation that accompanied an article in Monday's Section A about a tape from an alleged branch of Al Qaeda claiming responsibility for attacks in Iraq. He is the secretary of Defense, not the secretary of State.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld underwent successful shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, said Rumsfeld, 74, had the surgery on his left shoulder at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Ruff described it as elective surgery that was scheduled weeks in advance.

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld distanced himself Wednesday from the Army's handling of Cpl. Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire in Afghanistan, and denied allegations that the Bush administration covered up what actually happened so that it could use the former NFL star's death to rally public support. "Of course there's a difference between error and coverup," Rumsfeld told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has held several hearings on the case.

Re "Gates may not be following Bush's playbook on Iraq," May 6 This article used anonymous sources to criticize Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. The harshest criticism came from a "former senior Defense official." Could that be none other than the former secretary of Defense himself, Donald H. Rumsfeld? Is that him saying Gates "seems willing to throw the towel in" and is "undermining the strategy" by rushing to judge the effects of the surge "prematurely"? You don't print anonymous letters to the editor, so why do you still accept spin from anonymous sources and publish it as front-page news?

When President Bush went to the Pentagon in December to discuss his new war strategy with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld scheduled the meeting for his own conference room. The chiefs rejected Rumsfeld's plan for the conference. Instead, according to a military source briefed on the meeting, they sent word that they would be in "the Tank," the Joint Chiefs' own secret briefing room.

If there was any question that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates would go to almost any length to demonstrate he was the anti-Rumsfeld, he dispelled it Friday. In his first-ever Pentagon news conference, Gates' manner and method could not have been more different than those of his controversial predecessor -- starting with the room. Donald H. Rumsfeld made the Pentagon briefing room so much his own, Gates has evidently decided he has no intention of using it.

Donald H. Rumsfeld used his farewell address as Defense secretary Friday to warn against a weakening of American will in Iraq, saying a withdrawal of troops may provide short-term relief from U.S. casualties but would only embolden extremist enemies. Joined by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at a Pentagon ceremony, Rumsfeld rejected criticism of his conduct of the war, saying a failure to project military strength would only make the U.S. more vulnerable.

Re "The Rumsfeld show's finale a classic, by golly," Dec. 9 The Pentagon loses a giant of a man with the resignation of Donald H. Rumsfeld as Defense secretary. Time will tell a different story than the one now told by the media and shortsighted politicians who love their time in front of the camera and have nothing productive to say. What does Rumsfeld do? Is he sulking? No, he is visiting the troops and lauding the good job they are doing and thanking them for the sacrifices they and their families are making.

Civil rights groups filed a suit seeking war crimes charges against departing U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over the treatment of detainees at U.S.-run prisons at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The suit names 13 other U.S. officials, including Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzalez and former CIA Director George J. Tenet. Germany can prosecute foreign violations of international law under a 2002 universal jurisdiction law.

President-elect George W. Bush's team said Defense secretary nominee Donald H. Rumsfeld never agreed with pejorative comments that President Nixon made 29 years ago about blacks in a conversation preserved on tape at the National Archives. On the tape, Rumsfeld can be heard making several acknowledgments, such as "yes" and "that's right" as Nixon rambled on during a conversation about African and American blacks. The conversation is reported in the Chicago Tribune today.

For much of the last six years, a question-and-answer session with Donald H. Rumsfeld was the best show in town. The combative Defense secretary's bristling self-assurance made the Pentagon Briefing Room one of the hottest seats in Washington. The Bush administration's erstwhile rock star delivered his last major performance Friday, as feisty and quotable as when he began.

President Bush has been actively soliciting ideas and proposals about a course correction in Iraq from an array of senior aides, congressional and military leaders, Iraqi officials and others, and plans to announce a "new way forward" soon, senior administration officials said Sunday.