Rumsfeld Resigns, Unable to Face Opposition in Congress
Wolfram Donat
November 08, 2006
In a stunning move, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigned today. Citing disgust with the Republican Party, Rumsfeld was heard to mutter, “If those damn vote-buyers can’t hold on to Congress, how are we supposed to hold on to Iraq?” Rumsfeld’s resignation comes on the heels of a major shakeup in Washington. On Election Night 2006, Democrats successfully grabbed control of the House of Representatives from the Republicans, and as of this writing are poised to grab the Senate as well.
Rumsfeld has often been criticized in the past few years for his perceived mishandling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as his dynamic “restructuring” of the U.S. military. He has offered to step down before, but these offers have been rejected by President Bush.
Bush no longer has that opportunity. Along with losing his puppet Congress, he has lost his Secretary of Defense. He has already said that he plans to name Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to the post that Rumsfeld leaves vacant.
It is unclear where exactly this restructuring in Washington will lead, but one thing is obvious. America will no longer be “staying the course” in Iraq, since many exit polls indicated that America’s direction and placement there was a major influence on how Americans voted. Democrats have long said that the country needs a change; now that they have the chance, time will tell how they plan to handle the conflicts there and in Afghanistan. At least now they have a chance to work for compromise instead of being stonewalled by a deaf Defense Secretary and a bull-headed, spoiled President.
Rumsfeld has often been criticized in the past few years for his perceived mishandling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as his dynamic “restructuring” of the U.S. military. He has offered to step down before, but these offers have been rejected by President Bush.
Bush no longer has that opportunity. Along with losing his puppet Congress, he has lost his Secretary of Defense. He has already said that he plans to name Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to the post that Rumsfeld leaves vacant.
It is unclear where exactly this restructuring in Washington will lead, but one thing is obvious. America will no longer be “staying the course” in Iraq, since many exit polls indicated that America’s direction and placement there was a major influence on how Americans voted. Democrats have long said that the country needs a change; now that they have the chance, time will tell how they plan to handle the conflicts there and in Afghanistan. At least now they have a chance to work for compromise instead of being stonewalled by a deaf Defense Secretary and a bull-headed, spoiled President.
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