Rumsfeld's Tenure a Long, Hard Slog

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld listens to a question Friday, Sept. 29, 2006, in Portoroz, Slovenia. President Bush says Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is stepping down and former CIA Director Robert Gates will take over at the Pentagon and in prosecuting the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)

"He really has made some very hard calls in the Department of Defense that needed to be made that he hasn't gotten credit for, and he catches a helluva lot of criticism that he personally probably hasn't earned," said Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard. "He just ends up being a convenient target for somebody's frustration or disenchantment."

Rumsfeld's tenure at the Pentagon parallels that of another man whose legacy is also tied to an unpopular war _ Robert McNamara, who led the Pentagon during the Vietnam conflict.

"They became identified with the war and the war with them," said Andrew Krepinevich, executive director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington. "Ultimately they departed as a consequence of the crisis in the field and politics here at home."

Rumsfeld offered his resignation twice to Bush during the furor over prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, but Bush repeatedly declared his support for his embattled secretary. As recently as last month, when the latest in a series of critical books on the war was published, Rumsfeld snapped at reporters asking about his future.

"No, no, no," he said, he was not resigning.

Even Bush, when questioned by reporters a week ago, again declared his support for the secretary and insisted Rumsfeld would stay through the end of his term.

But with casualties climbing beyond 2,800 and U.S. troop levels in Iraq stuck at about 152,000 with little hope of significant reductions anytime soon, Rumsfeld became a political liability the administration could no longer endure. Even the independent Army Times, which serves the armed forces, called for him to resign earlier this week.

And as the announcement sent shock waves through Washington on Wednesday, Bush acknowledged that, in truth, he had been considering the change for at least two weeks.

Rumsfeld remained closed-mouthed about his departure until the very end. Early morning meetings went on as scheduled Wednesday, with no visible inkling of the announcement that was coming.

Then, at 10 a.m., he told the news to Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He asked Pace to let all of the senior military commanders know, shortly before Bush's 1 p.m. address. Rumsfeld also told a few other close senior staff, but much of the Pentagon learned it when it broke in the news.

Walking back into the Pentagon after a late afternoon meeting with Bush, Rumsfeld was circumspect about his departure.

"I've been here six years and I think it's probably good for this department to have a change in leadership that is fresh, that is supportive of the president, as I am," he said. "It will be a different Congress, a different environment, moving towards a presidential election and a lot of partisanship, and it struck me that this would be a good thing for everybody."

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