Donald Rumsfeld, architect of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dies at 88

Judy Woodruff:

There's word tonight that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who championed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has died. His family says he passed away Tuesday in Taos, New Mexico.

Nick Schifrin reports on his life and legacy.

Nick Schifrin:

A Navy veteran and Republican congressman from Illinois, Donald Rumsfeld was America's youngest defense secretary during the Cold War. He was also its oldest defense secretary and oversaw the wars post-9/11 and served amid deep and lasting controversy.

On the morning of September 11, he was a stretcher-bearer, ferrying wounded from the Pentagon.

Donald Rumsfeld:

The fact is, in this battle against terrorism, there is no silver bullet.

Nick Schifrin:

He was an architect of both the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars under President George W. Bush. And he propagated the now-debunked argument that Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction.

Question:

What do you make of the statement made by Iraqi government, statement by the Iraqi government yesterday that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction and is not developing them?

Donald Rumsfeld:

They are lying.

Next?

Nick Schifrin:

Rumsfeld was also a key proponent of the U.S.' use of what he called enhanced interrogation. Others call it torture, including at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.

The wars continued and casualties climbed, but Rumsfeld dismissed complaints from troops they were ill-prepared.

Donald Rumsfeld:

As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

Nick Schifrin:

Shortly after the 2006 midterms, then-President Bush fired Rumsfeld.

Today, Mr. Bush called Rumsfeld "a man of intelligence, integrity, and almost inexhaustible energy, who never paled before tough decisions and never flinched from responsibility."

Donald Rumsfeld was 88 years old.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.