Ex-US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld passes away

Former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the main architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq has died according to a statement by his family released Wednesday He was 88It 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 At 88 he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos New Mexico the statement issued on Wednesday saidThe cause of the former defence chiefs death was multiple myeloma according to Keith Urbahn a spokesman for the familyRumsfeld first served as Defence Secretary in the Gerald Ford administration during the early 1970s and then headed the Pentagon again under then President George W Bush in the early 2000s reports Xinhua news agencyWhile the veteran politicians two stints at the helm of the Pentagon made him both the youngest and the secondoldest Defence Secretary it was the second term that defined Rumsfelds legacyRumsfeld oversaw two conflicts during his tenure in the position Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan conducted less than a month following the 911 terror attack on American homeland in 2001 and the Iraq War launched in 2003Despite having Bushs support Rumsfeld ultimately resigned in November 2006 under pressure from both US and other NATOmember retired military leaders over his role in the Iraq War for which Washingtons excuse that Saddam Husseins regime possessed weapons of massive destruction was never proven on a factual basisIn his 2011 memoir Known and Unknown Rumsfeld having retired from public service for over four years still expressed no regrets over the decision to invade IraqRidding the region of Saddams brutal regime has created a more stable and secure world he wroteMany have also urged that Rumsfeld should be held to account for the notorious detainee abuse scandal in the Abu Ghraib prison near BaghdadMeant to be classified but leaked in 2004 a report by then US Army Major General Antonio Mario Taguba found that between October and December of 2003 there were numerous instances of sadistic blatant and wanton criminal abuses by American soldiers and members of the intelligence community against prisoners detained at Abu GhraibIn June 2008 Taguba accused the Bush administration of which Rumsfeld was a member of committing war crimesDespite the criticism that long outlived Rumsfelds years in Washington Bush on Wednesday lauded his former Defence Secretary as an exemplary public servant and a very good manThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever