He leaned forward, changing the way America fights wars and shaking up a staid bureaucracy. But his culture of intimidation alienated the brass—and helped pave the road to Abu Ghraib.
Donald Rumsfeld's journey to the brink
By Evan Thomas
NewsweekMay 17 issue - Donald Rumsfeld likes to be in total control. He wants to know all the details, including the precise interrogation techniques used on enemy prisoners. Since 9/11 he has insisted on personally signing off on the harsher methods used to squeeze suspected terrorists held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The conservative hard-liners at the Department of Justice have given the secretary of Defense a lot of leeway. It does not violate the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, the lawyers have told Rumsfeld, to put prisoners in ever-more-painful "stress positions" or keep them standing for hours on end, to deprive them of sleep or strip them naked. According to one of Rumsfeld's aides, the secretary has drawn the line at interrogating prisoners for more than 24 hours at a time or depriving them of light.
If it were possible to be a true war god, to aim every arrow that flies, to smite every foe and avenge every wrong, maybe Donald Rumsfeld would be that man. But it is not, and in Greek tragedies the gods themselves are brought low by pride. In Washington, where the assassin's weapon is usually a well-placed leak, Rumsfeld last week was left explaining, with uncharacteristic pitifulness, that he had not seen the actual pictures that appalled the world until eight days after the images first appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes II."
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http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4934213Continued:
Page 2: Rumsfeld's Strengths Are His Weaknesses
Page 3: Is Anyone Really in Charge?
Do you think Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign over the abuse of prisoners in Iraq?
* 88708 responses
Yes 62%
No 33%
I don't know 5%
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