Posted on 12/16/2006 1:15:34 PM PST by shrinkermd
The commander in chief and the U.S. armed forces joined to bid farewell yesterday to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld with a precision-timed 60 minutes of laudatory speeches, honor guard spit and polish and patriotic music...
The record of Don Rumsfeld's tenure is clear," Mr. Bush said. "There has been more profound change at the Department of Defense over the past six years than at any time since the department's creation in the late 1940s. And these changes were not easy."
It was the president who ended Mr. Rumsfeld's six-year tenure prematurely over the bogged-down war in Iraq. Mr. Bush, with Mr. Rumsfeld at his side, announced the resignation at the White House the day after Republicans lost the Nov. 7 midterm elections. Conservative pundits criticized the president for appearing to make Mr. Rumsfeld, his loyal and determined war secretary, a scapegoat for losing the House and Senate.
Mr. Bush said he wanted a "fresh perspective" on a war that has cost more than 2,900 American lives and descended into a bloodbath of sectarian killings of Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, with al Qaeda fighters adding to the carnage....
...
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
IMHO he accepted Rumsfeld resignation to spare him from endless Senate hearings now that the dems have control of congress which would mean running a department would be impossible let alone overseas visits as well.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.