Home>News Center>World
         
 

Rumsfeld's low profile questioned
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-17 09:28

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, for years the most public face of the Bush administration's war on terrorism, has suddenly become scarce.

Burdened by the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal and constrained by the presidential election campaign, the Pentagon chief who spearheaded the Afghanistan and Iraq wars has been relegated to a less visible role.

Rumsfeld's low profile questioned
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Cellphones fitted with digital cameras have been banned in US army installations in Iraq on orders from Rumsfeld, a business newspaper reported. [AFP]
Once seemingly in danger of being fired over the prisoner abuse, Rumsfeld appears to have survived. Yet some wonder whether the White House might still conclude he is a political liability and prefer he leave this summer.

"Donald Rumsfeld has gone from being the most popular spokesperson for the Bush administration policies to something of a pariah," said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a think tank.

"Whereas before the White House was happy to see him speaking in public whenever he chose, now it kind of cringes for fear of what the results might be," Thompson added.

Since an April 27 news conference -- one day before CBS News broadcast photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison -- Rumsfeld has appeared in the Pentagon briefing room just twice, on May 4 and June 17. In April he had four Pentagon news conferences; in March he had three.

Larry Di Rita, the chief spokesman for Rumsfeld, disputed the notion that the defense secretary has moved off the public stage. He said that since early May Rumsfeld has conducted 12 news conferences or media appearances at home and abroad, eight public speeches, seven television or radio interviews and two public congressional hearings.

"He has probably reached millions of Americans in those activities," Di Rita said.

The spokesman said it is natural that with the June 28 transition to sovereignty in Iraq, the Iraqi government and the State Department have taken over more of the public communication that the Pentagon had done previously.

Public profile

Various U.S. public opinion polls show the defense secretary's popularity on the decline.

He was viewed favorably by two-thirds two years ago and almost as many at the start of the war in March 2003. By last September his favorable rating was just above 50 percent, and the most recent poll, in February, had it slipping about 10 points further.

The last time Rumsfeld held a Pentagon news conference, nearly a month ago, he was asked about his lower public profile.

"I've been very much involved," Rumsfeld retorted dismissively. Evidently armed in advance, he rattled off statistics on the number of his speeches, interviews and congressional appearances.

Rumsfeld has continued to travel abroad with regularity. He was in Turkey and Moldova in late June and he made a one-day trip to Iraq on May 13 to visit U.S. troops at the Abu Ghraib prison. In early June he visited Bangladesh and Singapore.

The only time he has fielded reporters' questions in Washington this month was at the State Department, where he and Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared briefly with Australian officials.

Shadowed by scandal

For a time after the Abu Ghraib scandal, it looked as though Rumsfeld might be forced out. On May 5, White House aides leaked word that President Bush had told Rumsfeld he was unhappy about not being told about the abuse sooner.

Two days later, during an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rumsfeld apologized for the abusive conduct and said he accepted full responsibility.

Rumsfeld, who turned 72 this month, said he would not quit just to satisfy his political enemies but added that if he felt he could no longer be effective as defense secretary, "I'd resign in a minute."

William Nash, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a retired two-star Army general who commanded American peacekeeping forces in Bosnia, said the White House's political calculations will determine Rumsfeld's fate.

"Right now everything in this administration is being measured against whether or not it contributes to the re-election of the president in November," he said. "Obviously he's been a lightning rod and oh, by the way, he's also been wrong and that's never good" for Bush.

Nash suspects that Rumsfeld has yet to feel the full force of the Abu Ghraib abuse.

"I don't think there's any particular reason to believe that the Department of Defense is out of the woods on Abu Ghraib," he said.



USS Park Royal crew await for Rice
Coffin of Milosevic flew to Belgrade
Kidnapping spree in Gaza Strip
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Australia, US, Japan praise China for Asia engagement

 

   
 

Banker: China doing its best on flexible yuan

 

   
 

Hopes high for oil pipeline deal

 

   
 

Possibilities of bird flu outbreaks reduced

 

   
 

Milosevic buried after emotional farewell

 

   
 

China considers trade contracts in India

 

   
  Journalist's alleged killers held in Iraq
   
  No poisons found in Milosevic's body
   
  US, Britain, France upbeat on Iran agreement
   
  Fatah officials call for Abbas to resign
   
  Sectarian violence increases in Iraq
   
  US support for troops in Iraq hits new low
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Rumsfeld bans camera phones in Iraq
   
Gore demands Rumsfeld resign over Iraq abuse
   
US army to target SE Asian terrorists "soon"
   
Rumsfeld: US hid Iraqi prisoner from Red Cross
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 在线播放免费人成视频在线观看| 欧美大黑bbb| 成人18免费网站在线观看| 亚洲视频在线观看免费| 色播亚洲视频在线观看| 在线观看国产三级| 乱中年女人伦av三区| 精品久久久无码中文字幕 | 久久青青草原亚洲av无码麻豆| 每日更新在线观看av| 国产亚洲欧美日韩在线观看一区二区| (无码视频)在线观看| 成在人线av无码免费高潮水| 亚洲另类无码专区丝袜| 波多野结衣的av一区二区三区| 国产在视频线精品视频| 香蕉视频在线免费看| 国内精品第一页| japmassage日本按摩| 日韩精品无码一区二区三区 | xxxxx在线| 在车上狠狠的吸她的奶| 久久免费小视频| 欧美黑人XXXX高潮猛交| 免费无遮挡无码永久在线观看视频 | 久久99国产精品尤物| 日本娇小xxxⅹhd成人用品| 久久精品国产精品青草| 最近完整中文字幕2019电影| 亚洲人成7777| 粗大的内捧猛烈进出视频| 四虎国产精品永久免费网址| 色中色在线下载| 国产三级精品三级| 两个人看的www在线视频 | 亚洲高清中文字幕| 男人操女人的免费视频| 国产交换配偶在线视频| 麻豆国产剧果冻传媒视频| 国产成人精品亚洲一区| 很黄很黄的网站免费的|