Rumsfeld resigns

Donald Rumsfeld '54 himself became a casualty of the war in Iraq yesterday, forced to resign his post as secretary of defense after he and President Bush concluded that a "fresh perspective" is required to guide the military.

The announcement came just one day after the Republicans took what the president described as a "thumping" in Tuesday's midterm elections. After 12 years of GOP majorities, the Democrats, on the strength of their criticism of the Bush administration's conduct of the war and vast nationwide displeasure with the status quo, wrested control of the House and appear poised to also take the Senate.

In a press conference at the White House yesterday, only days after stating that Rumsfeld would stay on for the rest of his term, Bush said that he and Rumsfeld agreed "after a series of thoughtful conversations" that "the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon."

"I believe Iraq had a lot to do with the election," Bush said, sounding a conciliatory note. "There were different factors that determined the outcome of different races, but no question, Iraq was on people's minds."

"And, as you have just learned, I am making a change at the secretary of defense to bring a fresh perspective as to how to achieve something I think most Americans want, which is a victory."

Bush said that Rumsfeld, in their conversations, understood that "Iraq is not working well enough, fast enough."

One of the most prominent Princetonians serving the U.S. government, Rumsfeld became known the world over in recent years for his brusque style and apparent detachment from the hardships facing U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq. Once one of People Magazine's sexiest men alive and known for his boyish charm, yesterday's resignation seemed to complete Rumsfeld's fall from grace, the mounting death toll in Iraq and other challenges, like the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, having taken their toll.

Pressure on the secretary had mounted in recent months, with former and even current military leaders publicly voicing their dissatisfaction with his leadership of the war. Four days ago, the Army Times, an independent military newspaper, called for his resignation.

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"Many, many people have been calling for Rumsfeld to resign or be fired," said Wilson School professor Robert Finn GS '78, who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan for 18 months, beginning in early 2002.

Longtime friends from Rumsfeld's undergraduate years at Princeton, however, emphasized his qualities as an honest and dedicated man, who led the Department of Defense with the same zeal, passion and skill he demonstrated as a student and athlete in the early 1950s.

Rumsfeld arrived at Princeton in the fall of 1950 as an athletic recruit. A scholarship student lacking the wealth and connections of his classmates, Rumsfeld hitchhiked to campus his freshman year from his home in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Ill.

Captain of two varsity teams his senior year, Rumsfeld wrestled and played lightweight football. Wrestling in the 157-pound weight class, he finished two regular seasons undefeated and placed second in the Eastern Collegiate Wrestling Association as a sophomore.

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Eric Jones '54 was quarterback on the lightweight team, and he and Rumsfeld shared a carrel in Firestone Library while writing their senior theses in the spring of 1954. "He's always been bright and focused," Jones recalled in an interview last night. "When he did something, he did it well — otherwise, he just didn't do it."

Jones, now secretary of the Class of 1954, remembered the young Rumsfeld as "a leader who was admired and respected by his peers." He was "fun to be around," whether in the library or in the dining room at Cap & Gown Club, where he was a member.

One of nine roommates still "tight and close" with Rumsfeld, Somers Steelman '54 described the former Cap member as "a marvelous guy" and "the most loyal Princetonian you ever saw."

The "roomies" get together frequently, most recently for an October long weekend in Rhode Island with Rumsfeld and his wife Joyce, Steelman said.

When they talked privately, Steelman recalled, he asked his old friend how he was handling the harsh criticism of his prosecution of the war coming from almost every direction. "I said, 'You're really taking it on the chin, can't you say something to the press ... Can't you resign?' "

Rumsfeld was measured in his response, dedicated to serving the president. " 'I've been asked by the president not to do that,' " Steelman recalled the defense secretary as saying, noting that Rumsfeld had previously submitted letters of resignation that Bush declined to accept. "That really took the fangs out of the tiger."

Raymond DuBois '72, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former undersecretary of the Army and special assistant to Rumsfeld, also described the secretary as wholly loyal to the president. "With respect to being secretary of defense, he has said many times, 'I serve at the pleasure of the president,' " Dubois recalled.

At 43, Rumsfeld was the youngest-ever secretary of defense while serving in the position for 14 months during the Ford administration. The 68-year-old Rumsfeld also became the oldest man to ever serve in the position when Bush tapped him for the job.

Had he served through December, Rumsfeld would have been the longest-serving defense secretary. Now he retires second to Robert McNamara, who served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

DuBois regularly introduced Rumsfeld to Princeton students in Washington, D.C., for the summer when they visited the Pentagon during the annual meetings Rumsfeld hosted for them.

"Donald Rumsfeld is an iconic male of the 1950s," DuBois said. "Imagine him arriving at Princeton as a crewcut freshman in September 1950. The Midwestern boy — an athletic recruit, a member of the Navy ROTC — who loved politics and worked his way up. It's kind of an extraordinary life."

"It's simple — this guy, at his core, believes in truth, justice and the American way."

Given the arguments that he has been out of touch with public sentiments on the war, DuBois said Rumsfeld was nervous to go to his 50th Reunion in 2004.

"Even though he loves Princeton so much," DuBois said, "he was seriously considering whether or not to go to the Friday night dinner for his 50th, knowing that some of the people in the room — his classmates, prominent people — were strongly on the other side of the political divide and the policy divide." Those classmates include Sen. Paul Sarbanes '54 (D-Md.), who will retire in January after five terms in the Senate.

Eventually, Rumsfeld was convinced to go to Reunions for a Friday dinner the night before he gave the commencement address at the United States Military Academy. "When he walked into the room, they all gathered around him," DuBois said. "They all did what you would hope they'd do even if they didn't agree with him."

Wilson School visiting professor Daniel Kurtzer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt during the Clinton administration, described the resignation as a strategic tactic for the Bush administration.

"It's not for nothing that the president did it right after Election Day," Kurtzer said. "Rather than concede that the [war] policy was wrong, Bush used the resignation to signal that he accepts the political statement the American people made in voting so heavily for Democrats."

Kurtzer said the loss of Republican majorities in the House and possibly in the Senate gave the president a basis for firing Rumsfeld without admitting that policy on the Iraq war needs reform. "It's a way of saying, 'I still think I was right, but the American people think there should be change,' without actually admitting any wrongdoing."

Though members of the military are not allowed to comment on civilian leadership, several recent graduates of the Princeton ROTC program did speak last night about how they think the change in leadership will affect the military.

One alumnus, Joe McConnell '05, said, "I think Rumsfeld during his time as secretary of defense was an effective leader of the military and an effective leader of the army. I, however, think that it was the correct decision to put someone new in for a change in perspective and change in direction."

Princetonian staff writer Tatiana Lau contributed reporting to this article.