Ex-US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies at 88

WASHINGTON • Former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the main architect of the 2003 Iraq War until then President George W. Bush replaced him as the US found itself bogged down after 31/2 years of fighting, has died at age 88, his family said in a statement.

"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather," the statement said on Wednesday. "At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico."

It did not say when he died.

With the forceful Mr Rumsfeld in charge, US forces swiftly toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein but failed to maintain law and order in the aftermath, and Iraq descended into chaos with a bloody insurgency and violence between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. US troops remained in Iraq until 2011, long after he left his post.

Mr Rumsfeld played a leading role ahead of the war in making the case to the world for the March 2003 invasion. He warned of the dangers of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, but no such weapons were ever discovered.

He was known for imperious treatment of some military officers and members of Congress and infighting with other members of the Bush team, including then Secretary of State Colin Powell. He also alienated US allies in Europe.

In 2004, Mr Bush twice refused to accept Mr Rumsfeld's offer to resign after photos surfaced of US personnel abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. The scandal triggered international condemnation of the United States.

Mr Rumsfeld personally authorised harsh interrogation techniques for detainees. The US treatment of detainees in Iraq and foreign terrorism suspects at a special prison set up under Mr Rumsfeld at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, drew international condemnation.

He was a close ally of Mr Bush's vice-president Dick Cheney, who had worked for Mr Rumsfeld during the 1970s Republican presidencies of Mr Richard Nixon and Mr Gerald Ford.

Mr Rumsfeld became a lightning rod for criticism and, with the Iraq War largely a stalemate and public support eroding, Mr Bush replaced him in November 2006 over Mr Cheney's objections.

Mr Robert Gates, a soft-spoken but demanding former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, took over from Mr Rumsfeld the following month and made sweeping strategic and military leadership changes in Iraq.

Many historians and military experts blamed Mr Rumsfeld for decisions that led to difficulties in Iraq. For example, he insisted on a relatively small invasion force, rejecting the views of many generals. The force then was insufficient to stabilise Iraq when Saddam fell.

Mr Rumsfeld also was accused of being slow to recognise the emergence of the insurgency in 2003 and the threat it posed.

He also oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to oust Taleban leaders who had harboured Al-Qaeda leaders responsible for the Sept 11 attacks. As he did in Iraq two years later, he sent a small force to Afghanistan, quickly drove the Taleban from power and then failed to establish law and order.

US forces during his tenure also were unable to track down Osama bin Laden. The Al-Qaeda chief slipped past a modest force of US special operations troops and CIA officers along with allied Afghan fighters in the Afghan mountains of Tora Bora in December 2001.

US forces killed Osama in 2011.

Mr Rumsfeld also served as a navy pilot and US Nato ambassador and was elected to the House of Representatives. He and his wife Joyce had three children.

REUTERS