defense, he was dealing with a military that needed to modernize and look to the future. in the 70s, we came out of vietnam. transitioning to an all-volunteer military. a good transition. the regan build-up. in 2001 he became secretary of defense, we were trying to move up where we had been for 45 years, fighting a heavy land water against like the soviet union. the kind of war that we were ready to fight and won very easily in 1991 but that was no longer the fight of the future. we would have low intensity insurgencies. we thought fighting would occur in space or cyber space. don rumsfeld in the business world in the 80s and the 90s remained engaged. he sat on public commissions and rang the alarm on matters. he talked about missile defense in those days. both teams when he became
states of america in his role. you covered all of that, bret. he took a lot of criticism. obviously the weapons of mass destruction, a lot of people took that criticism. he was at the forefront of secretary of defense. not finding wmd in iraq. also, abu grave. remember the prisoners and the way they were treated. that investigation into that prison, abu grave, led to rumsfeld offering his resignation. that was a dark time in his service. but look after he left office. some of the left would say in disgrace. others would say he served admirably throughout. afterwards he set up a foundation to bring in kids from around the world and instruct them about the the need for
administration. the first two, three years, george w. bush was tremendously popular. so was donald rumsfeld. the war in afghanistan was going extremely well. iraq. people supported the iraq war until we learned there were no weapons of mass destruction. so much of what donald rumsfeld did was widely supported. he would hold news conferences every afternoon during both wars. one day president bush was killing donald rumsfeld. he said you re so popular with these afternoon news conferences, you re an afternoon teen idol. everybody in the oval laughed. how could this old guy be a teen idol? the afternoon matinee teen idol. he was. people wanted to turn in and listen to his take what was happening in the war in afghanistan and the war in iraq. at the time they were largely successful military operations and largely supported by the american people. donald rumsfeld was highly
as secretary of defense when i joined the army in 2005. so i just think today is a time to reflect on the life service, the deep patriotism and send our condolences to his wife, joyce of almost 70 years and also to his family. america has lost a true gentleman and a patriot today. martha: there s been a lot of discussion about the military today and the direction that it is taking. whether or not it has sort of focused on things that they shouldn t. general milley said that s not the case. but as you look at that and look at the leadership of donald rumsfeld who admitted when he resigned, the brunt of a lot of criticism at times. what are your thoughts on then versus now? well, both times don rumsfeld took over at secretary of
secretary of defense, he took charge of a military that needed to begin to update and modernize its doctrines and tactics and mission and he succeeded both teams he was secretary of defense. martha: senator cotton, thank you very much. good to have you with us today as we remember the life of don rumsfeld, two-time secretary of defense. on the phone with us is bret baier. we just watched your look back at donald rumsfeld s life which featured a number of your interviews with him. probing questions over the years that he served. your thoughts as we get this news today, bret. it s a sad day, a day of reflection. you touched on his service, six decades in these jobs and positions. i remember him as a guy that was really tough to nail down on questions. he answered not answering