Rumsfeld Resigns
Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as Secretary of Defense.
Word came a day after the Democratic gains in the election, in which Rumsfeld was a focus of much of the criticism of the Iraq war. Officials said Robert Gates, former head of the CIA, would replace Rumsfeld.
Earlier today, a spokesman for Rumsfeld said he'd given no indication that he would step down in the wake of Democratic election gains. The spokesman said Rumsfeld would work with Congress on Iraq but added that the focus on stabilizing the country will remain the same.
H/T Crosspatch in the comments section.
UPDATE: Washington Post coverage here.
President Bush was expected to announce Rumsfeld's departure and Gates' nomination at an afternoon news conference. Administration officials notified congressional officials in advance.
Last week, as he campaigned to save the Republican majority, Bush declared that Rumsfeld would remain at the Pentagon through the end of his term.
Rumsfeld, 74, was in his second tour of duty as defense chief. He first held the job a generation ago, when he was appointed by President Ford.
Gates is the president of Texas A&M University and a close friend of the Bush family. He served as CIA director for Bush's father from 1991 until 1993.
Gates first joined the CIA in 1966 and served in the intelligence community for more than a quarter century, under six presidents.
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Wake up America — Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 1:06 pm
By TC@LeatherPenguin, Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 12:12 pm
Well, at least SOMEONE in this Administration was willing to fall on a sword.
But how do the newly-arrogant Dems proceed?
By crosspatch, Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 12:19 pm
My guess is he decided to do this earlier but waited until after the election to announce it so as not to provide anyone any additional propaganda.
By ck, Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 12:26 pm
Worst news of the day by far.
By crosspatch, Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 1:12 pm
With Gates coming it, it says to me that Special Operations are going to continue to be a major thrust in the military going forward.
Overall, I thought Rumsfeld was a genius who wasn’t well understood. His reconfiguration of the Army from a monolithic division structure to a more modular brigade structure was in my opinion pure brilliance. Rather than having to configure large units for the type of warfare they would be engaged in, large units can now be configured from an array of modules for the kind of battle they are up against. This allows a custom force to be arrayed against a custom threat in short order compared to the older structure. It allows much greater flexibility.
His emphasis on truly combined arms will serve us well going forward too. Many of the older generals that were used to the old way might not like it, but Rumsfeld is a real innovator in my opinion.
By BubbaB, Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 2:19 pm
I agree. Rumsfeld changed the face of America’s defense capabilities for the good.
By syn, Wednesday, 8 November , 2006 @ 2:28 pm
What crosspatch said and I’ll add Rumsfeld is a great American.