Rumsfeld isn't leaving anytime soon

Posted By James Forsyth Friday, April 14, 2006 - 6:46 PM Share

You can’t swing a cat without hitting a report that Don Rumsfeld is embattled, under fire, taking flak, facing a mutiny etc. But I still can’t smell blood in the water. Indeed, every time a general comes out and denounces Rummy I think it makes it less likely that he’ll go anytime soon.

Why? Because Rumsfeld is stubborn and determined and isn’t going to walk away from this fight. (For a insight into his character read this New Yorker story about his college wrestling days). Equally, Bush isn’t going to want to look like he’s being railroaded into sacking his secretary of defense by a clique of generals. The statement of support Bush just issued leaves him with virtually no little wiggle room. And to cap it all there is no ready-made replacement for Rummy who could do the job and bolster Bush’s poll numbers.

But it is hard to see things improving for Rumsfeld. As I was interviewing conservative foreign policy experts on who might succeed him, I was struck by the intensity of the animosity towards him. The level of vitriol was shocking, even by Washington standards. Journalists are going to have an easy time writing “Rumsfeld under fire” stories for the next few months. My money, though, is still on him not stepping down until sometime after the midterms.

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