US defence secretary, who oversaw 2003 invasion of Iraq, dies at 88
Washington (QNN)- Donald Rumsfeld, a former U.S. defense secretary who was the main architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has died at age 88, his family said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It 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,” the statement said.
“At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico.”
The statement did not say when Rumsfeld died.
A statement from the family of Donald Rumsfeld: pic.twitter.com/AlKYxVvqgF
— Donald Rumsfeld (@RumsfeldOffice) June 30, 2021
Rumsfeld served in the Republican administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and George W Bush and oversaw the Pentagon’s response to the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Rumsfeld’s views never changed regarding the invasion of Iraq, as in his 2011 memoir ‘Known and Unknown’, he expressed no regrets over the decision to invade Iraq, which cost the US more than $700bn and 4,400 American lives.
“Knowing what we later learned and recognizing the costs, there is not a persuasive argument to be made that the United States would be in a stronger strategic position or that Iraq and the Middle East would be better off if Saddam were still in power,” he wrote.
“In short, ridding the region of Saddam’s brutal regime has created a more stable and secure world.”
The number of deaths caused by the Iraq war has been a source of intense controversy, with one study released in 2013 putting the figure at close to 500,000.
