It is a name forever linked to the American wars. Donald Rumsfeld, former hawk and head of the Pentagon under George W. Bush, architect of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, has died at the age of 88 in the state of New Mexico, his family announced on Wednesday.
Former naval pilot Donald Rumsfeld led the war in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, and was the architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
A statement from the family of Donald Rumsfeld: pic.twitter.com/AlKYxVvqgF
– Donald Rumsfeld (@RumsfeldOffice) June 30, 2021
“He may go down in history for his extraordinary accomplishments during six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best and whose lives were forever changed by him, we will remember his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to his country. “
“An exemplary civil servant”, according to George W. Bush
The rapid overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had given him a strong stature in the Bush administration, but his reputation had been tarnished by the stagnation of the US military in Iraq, and by the exposure of the Abu scandal. Ghraib in April 2004. Photos of Iraqi prisoners tortured and humiliated by American soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison had indeed provoked worldwide outrage.
Donald Rumsfeld led the Pentagon from 1975 to 1977, then from 2001 to 2006. The first time he was the youngest defense minister, and by his return in 2001 he had become the oldest to lead the Pentagon.
“The United States is safer” thanks to Donald Rumsfeld, greeted the former president George W. Bush, about his former head of the Pentagon. We mourn an exemplary public servant, a very good man. “