Editing Donald Rumsfeld (section)

==Legacy and reputation==
Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]] described Rumsfeld as "the most ruthless man" he knew.<ref>BBC News, November 8, 2006 "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3690341.stm Profile Donald Rumsfeld] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118210035/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3690341.stm |date=November 18, 2018 }}</ref> [[George Packer]] of ''The Atlantic'' named Rumsfeld "the worst secretary of defense in American history" who "lacked the wisdom to change his mind."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Packer|first=George|date=2021-07-01|title=How Rumsfeld Deserves to Be Remembered|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/06/how-donald-rumsfeld-deserves-be-remembered/619334/|access-date=2021-07-06|website=The Atlantic|language=en}}</ref> Bradley Graham, a ''[[Washington Post]]'' reporter and author of the book titled ''By His Own Rules: The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld'' released on June 23, 2009, stated "Rumsfeld left office as one of the most controversial Defense Secretaries since Robert McNamara and widely criticized for his management of the Iraq war and for his difficult relationships with Congress, administration colleagues, and military officers."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/bradley-graham/by-his-own-rules/9781586486501/|title=By His Own Rules The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld|date=June 27, 2017|isbn=9781586486501|access-date=20 February 2022|last1=Graham|first1=Bradley|publisher=PublicAffairs }}</ref>&nbsp;[[Neoconservatism|Neoconservative]] commentator [[Bill Kristol]] was also critical of Rumsfeld, stating he "breezily dodged responsibility" for planning mistakes made in the Iraq War, including insufficient troop levels.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A132-2004Dec14.html The Defense Secretary We Have], William Kristol, December 15, 2004</ref> In [[Jon Meacham]]'s book [[Destiny and Power|Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush]], published in November 2015, the 41st president [[George H.W. Bush]] was critical of Rumsfeld and called Rumsfeld "an arrogant fellow" and "I think he served the president badly," and "I don't like what he did, and I think it hurt the president having his iron-ass view of everything."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/biography-george-h-w-bush-slams-iron-ass-cheney-rumsfeld-n457911|title=In Biography, George H.W. Bush Slams 'Iron-Ass' Cheney, Rumsfeld|website=[[NBC News]] |date=5 November 2015|access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>