Rumsfeld bids farewell to Defense employees

updated 7:03 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2006

WASHINGTON - In an emotional farewell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday the single worst day of his nearly six years as secretary of defense occurred when he learned of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse in Iraq.

Speaking to a gathering of Defense Department employees 10 days before he is scheduled to leave office, Rumsfeld defended his record on Iraq and Afghanistan and warned of "dire consequences were we to fail" in Iraq.

He also said he might write a book about his tenure at the Pentagon and he predicted that his successor, Robert Gates, would do a good job. He declined to say what advice he had offered Gates, who was confirmed by the Senate this week.

Rumsfeld choked up briefly while recalling a woman in Alaska giving him a bracelet last August as a reminder of the sacrifices by soldiers of the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade, whose year-long tour in Iraq was extended by four months to help try to quell sectarian violence in Baghdad. Showing it still on his wrist, Rumsfeld recalled that he told the woman he would wear the green bracelet until the 172nd came home to Alaska.

He spoke at length about his concern that the United States not let Iraq and Afghanistan collapse.

‘Staying power’ in Iraq, Afghanistan
"We have every chance in the world of succeeding in both those countries, but only if we have the patience and only if we have the staying power," he said. Asked about the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's recommendations for a change in approach to the Iraq war, Rumsfeld said none of the suggestions were new.

"I can't think of a thing that anyone's thought of that General (Peter) Pace and General (John) Abizaid and those folks have not been working on and analyzing and studying and adjusting to over time," he said, referring to the top two generals overseeing the Iraq war. He said the Pentagon had sent its advice to the White House on possible new approaches.

In a question-and-answer session, he was asked what was his best day and his worst day.

"Clearly, the worst day was Abu Ghraib, seeing what went on there and feeling so deeply sorry that that happened," he said without hesitation, referring to the scandal in the spring of 2004 that triggered worldwide condemnation and prompted him to twice offer his resignation to President George W. Bush at that time. Bush rejected those offers.

"I guess my best day, I don't know, may be a week from Monday," he said with a big grin, referring to the fact that his successor, Robert Gates, is scheduled to take over at the Pentagon on Dec. 18.

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