White House backs Rumsfeld
2006-10-02 10:52
Washington - US President George W Bush has confidence in defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, despite accusations that he botched the Iraq war and earlier efforts by top Bush aides to replace him, the White House said on Sunday.
White House counsellor Dan Bartlett also said Condoleezza
Rice, who served as Bush's national security adviser before
becoming secretary of state, had proposed a complete change of
Bush's national security team after his 2004 re-election.
This was in addition to efforts by White House chief of
staff Andrew Card to replace Rumsfeld, as reported in a new
book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward on Bush's
handling of the war.
'Enormously difficult job'
"The president has full confidence in secretary Rumsfeld,"
Bartlett told ABC's This Week. Rumsfeld was doing an
"enormously difficult job," he added.
Bartlett also denied Bush was misleading the America public
about violence against US troops in Iraq, a central charge in
a Woodward's book State of Denial.
Rumsfeld, who critics say failed to adequately plan for the
Iraq war or send enough troops, remains the right person to
lead it, Bartlett said.
"We recognise that he has his critics, we recognise that he's made some very difficult decisions. Some people don't like his bedside manner," Bartlett said.
Bush wants Rumsfeld "to bring him the type of information
he needs to make the right decisions in this war," Bartlett
said.
Support from Bush
Rumsfeld said on Sunday he would not resign and that Bush
had personally called to offer support. "Oh my lord, yes," he
said in response to a question on whether Bush affirmed his
support.
Rumsfeld has offered his resignation twice but it was not
accepted by the president.
Rumsfeld, speaking to reporters on a flight to Nicaragua,
also dismissed suggestions that he and Rice had at one point
not been speaking to one another.
- Reuters