Former US War Secretary Rumsfeld Dead at 88

By Staff, Agencies

Former US war secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who led the nation into war in Afghanistan and Iraq during the presidency of George W. Bush, has died at the age of 88 in New Mexico, his family announced Wednesday.

"History may remember him for his extraordinary accomplishments over six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best... we will remember his unwavering love for his wife, Joyce, his family and friends, and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to the country," the family said in a statement.

His family said that Rumsfeld – who after resigning in 2006 not only spent years defending his legacy but also dabbling in software and even releasing a solitaire app – died in Taos, New Mexico, and described "the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to the country."

For millions who took to the streets to denounce the war in Iraq, Rumsfeld and former vice president Dick Cheney were emblematic of what was seen as excesses in Bush's "war on terror," including the indefinite detention of suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the abuse of Iraqis by US jailers at Abu Ghraib prison.

The former congressman's brand of hawkish politics eventually fell from favor as politicians from both sides turned on "forever wars," and the troops he first sent to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks will make their final withdrawal weeks after his death.

Bush called his war secretary, whom he defiantly kept in his cabinet until rival Democrats won control of Congress in 2006, "an exemplary public servant and a very good man."

"He was a faithful steward of our armed forces, and the United States of America is safer and better off for his service," Bush said, without directly mentioning the decision to invade Iraq.