Former US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Who Led Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Passes Away (Comprehensive)

The Only Defense Minister to Serve Twice... NYT "The Most Powerful Defense Minister Ever"
Dismissed Amid Iraq War Controversy
Also Revealed Hardline Stance on North Korea in Memoirs

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Donald Rumsfeld (photo), who served as U.S. Secretary of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration and led the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, has passed away at the age of 88.

On the 30th (local time), according to The New York Times (NYT) and The Washington Post (WP), Rumsfeld's family released a statement announcing his death. The cause of death was multiple myeloma.

In the statement, the family said, "We will remember his unwavering love for his wife, family, and friends, and the sincerity of his life dedicated to the country."

Former President Bush also issued a statement that day, mourning Rumsfeld as "an exemplary public servant and a very fine person" who never shied away from responsibility.

Rumsfeld was first appointed as the youngest Secretary of Defense in history at the age of 43 during the Gerald Ford administration in 1975.

He also ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988. He held various high-ranking positions including White House Chief of Staff, presidential advisor, NATO ambassador, Illinois congressman, and Middle East envoy.

Rumsfeld then joined the Bush administration in 2001 as Secretary of Defense. As a close aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, a hardliner, he contributed to designing a tough defense policy alongside Cheney.

Classified as a hawk, Rumsfeld is well known as the U.S. Secretary of Defense who led the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

Former President George W. Bush and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (right)
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Bloomberg News reported that "(Rumsfeld) led two of the longest wars in U.S. history." The NYT also evaluated him as "the most powerful Secretary of Defense since Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War."

The Iraq War he led is one of the most controversial wars fought since World War II.

The Iraq War, launched in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, began based on intelligence that then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

However, the discovery that there were no weapons of mass destruction dealt a significant blow to the credibility of the U.S. government and the Department of Defense.

As controversy over the Iraq War spread, six retired generals demanded Rumsfeld's resignation in 2006.

Following the 2006 midterm elections, in which the Bush administration lost control of both the House and Senate to the opposition, Rumsfeld was dismissed at the end of that year.

In his 2011 memoir published after retirement, Rumsfeld expressed no regrets about the Iraq War, arguing that "the removal of the Hussein regime made the world more stable and secure."

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (left) shakes hands with then-Vice President Dick Cheney at an event in 2006.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Rumsfeld was also at the center of controversy for his blunt and provocative remarks.

In 2002, when asked whether there was insufficient evidence that Iraq was supplying weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, he explained the uncertainty of intelligence and rebutted point by point.

He said at the time, "Reports that something did not happen always catch my attention," because there are "known knowns," "known unknowns," and "unknown unknowns" in intelligence.

However, Bloomberg News reported that his difficult-to-understand remarks made him a target of attacks by anti-war activists.

During his second term as Secretary of Defense, he visited South Korea in 2003 and 2005, and also visited South Korea several times including in 1974 when he accompanied President Ford as White House Chief of Staff.

In his memoir after retirement, he revealed that he had considered inducing the overthrow of Kim Jong-il’s regime within North Korea’s military through diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.