Donald Rumsfeld, former Pentagon chief under George W. Bush, has died

Donald Rumsfeld, former “hawk” and head of the Pentagon under George W. Bush, man of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has died at the age of 88 in the state of New Mexico, his family announced on Wednesday, June 30 .

Former naval pilot Donald Rumsfeld led the war in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, after the attacks of September 11, and was the architect of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“He may go down in history for his extraordinary accomplishments during six decades of public service” more “Those who knew him best” will remember “For his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends and for the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to his country”his relatives said in a statement.

“The United States is safer” thanks to Donald Rumsfeld, greeted former President George W. Bush, about his former head of the Pentagon, whose death was announced Wednesday. “We mourn an exemplary civil servant, a very good man”, said the former US leader, about the controversial architect of the Iraq war.

A reputation tarnished by the Abu Ghraib scandal

The rapid overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had given him a strong stature in the Bush administration, but his reputation had been tarnished by the stagnation of the US military in Iraq, and by the exposure of the Abu scandal. Ghraib in April 2004.

Photos of Iraqi prisoners tortured and humiliated by US servicemen in Abu Ghraib prison sparked global outrage.

Donald Rumsfeld led the Pentagon from 1975 to 1977, then from 2001 to 2006. The first time he was the youngest defense minister, and by his return in 2001 he had become the oldest to lead the Pentagon.

“These six years represent a while. It reminds me of Winston Churchill’s statement: “Jhave benefited greatly from the reviews and at no time did I miss any” », he said in 2006.

Wrestling champion, he was a young representative in Congress, then American Ambassador to NATO (1973-1974), before being Secretary General of the White House under Gerald Ford (1974-75), Secretary of Defense (1975- 77) and candidate for the Republican Party nomination for the 1988 presidential election.