That’s a great question. Given the commission’s report that is supposed to be coming in short-order, it’s hard at this point to determine whether it is the expected (though not guaranteed) redirection of course that was the cause, or the election.
I’d assume the election. Though I wonder how much his departure removes him from the frackass, if any investigations are initiated (as conservative commentators have guaranteed).
Like Rummy himself warned us:
“Freedom is untidy”
Now he’ll have plenty of time to stroll the lanes at Arlington National Cemetary and think about how, exactly, stuff happens.
I believe it’s the election as well. Had the results kept the Republicans in the house the administration probably would have used it as the reaffirmation of the course they’re taking and kept going in that direction with regards to Iraq. Therefore Rumsfeld would have kept his job.
If Bush pushed him out which is most likely the case it’s probably his way of showing that he’s changing course and “listening”.
I don’t believe the results of the election and Rumsfeld leaving are coincidence.
I’m not crying that he is gone but Bush is still picking his replacement.
I wonder if the election results kept the Republicans in the house and senate would Rumsfeld had kept his job.
yes. Bush said so, last week - that Rumsfeld would remain in place for the next two years. Of course Bush was lying,
02NOV06:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/01/bush.cheney.ap/index.html
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush said Wednesday he wants Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain in his administration until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most-criticized members of his team.
08NOV06:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/08/rumsfeld/index.html
Bush said while Rumsfeld’s resignation had been in the works for a period of time, he held off any announcement until Wednesday because he “didn’t want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days” of the election campaign.
**
Gates presided over the politicization of the CIA analysis function, so I don’t have high hopes for him being any more effective. However, he has lots of experience with funding terrorism, so maybe he’ll figure it out.
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
“Independent Counsel found insufficient evidence to warrant charging Robert Gates with a crime for his role in the Iran/contra affair. Like those of many other Iran/contra figures, the statements of Gates often seemed scripted and less than candid. Nevertheless, given the complex nature of the activities and Gates’s apparent lack of direct participation, a jury could find the evidence left a reasonable doubt that Gates either obstructed official inquiries or that his two demonstrably incorrect statements were deliberate lies.”
As larry says, hopefully Rummy will spend some time strolling the cemeteries and thinking about how stuff happens.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/04/rumsfeld-called-out
More likely he’ll be rewarded with a lucrative consultancy.
The Onion as usual has the best coverage:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55077
"WASHINGTON, DC—After nearly six years of much-publicized service as Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld announced his resignation Wednesday afternoon, saying that he had “proudly accomplished everything set out to bungle.” “Years ago, I decided to bog this great nation down in an extended, grueling foreign occupation, and I’m happy to say that’s exactly what I’ve done,” said Rumsfeld in a farewell address at the White House, during which he urged Americans to continue waging the ill-conceived, mismanaged, and evidently unwelcome fight for democracy in the Middle East. “Each of my actions—from undersupplying troops with body armor to focusing on capturing Saddam Hussein while Osama bin Laden remained free—has led America inexorably toward our current state of extreme crisis. Well, anyway, goodbye!” President Bush expressed confidence that Robert Gates, his new nominee for Secretary of Defense, will be able to “fuck everything up the rest of the way.”