Bush Replaces Rumsfeld With Ex-CIA Chief

"I'm obviously disappointed with the outcome of the election. As the head of the Republican Party, I share a large part of the responsibility," said Bush. (Reuters)

"Now, after a series of thoughtful conversations, Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon," Bush said at a press conference, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Bush has repeatedly asserted that Rumsfeld will remain in office until the end of the president's mandate in 2008.

The American president named former CIA chief Bob Gates as Rumsfeld's replacement at the Pentagon, following six tumultuous years with Rumsfeld at the helm.

Gates, who headed the CIA from 1991 to 1993, is working on the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which is due to present Bush with policy recommendations on the Iraq crisis in the coming weeks.

Bush also took responsibility for the Democratic election victory, and acknowledged it was motivated by voter dissatisfaction with the Iraq war.

"I'm obviously disappointed with the outcome of the election," he said.

"As the head of the Republican Party, I share a large part of the responsibility."

Democrats basked in the glow of election victory, having reclaimed control of the House after 12 years as the minority party.

Exit polls showed that voter disenchantment with Iraq was a key factor in the election results, and calls for Rumsfeld's resignation mounted during the campaign.

A cohort of retired generals, including former NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark and Anthony Zinni, the former chairman of the US Central Command, had called for Rumsfeld to resign over mishandling the Iraqi war.

Rumsfeld has seen his ratings in freefall over the past three years mainly due to his policies in the Arab country, including failure to provide sufficient Interceptor Body Armors (IBAs) for his troops in Iraq.

In the wake of the Abu Gharaib abuse scandal, American press reports said interrogation tactics amounting to torture were okayed by senior Pentagon officials, including Rumsfeld himself.

Welcomed

"Nowhere did the American people make it more clear that we need a new direction than in the war in Iraq," said Pelosi. (Reuters)

"I think it will give us a fresh start," Pelosi said.

Fresh from her party's stunning takeover of the House of Representatives in midterm elections, Pelosi earlier Wednesday pressed for the resignation of Rumsfeld.

"I think there has to be a signal of change of direction on the part of the president," she said.

"The one good place that he could start is a place where not only the Democrats in large numbers of the American people, but the voices of the military have spoken out. That is to change the leadership at the Pentagon."

Victorious Democrats were quick to throw their newfound political weight Wednesday behind demands that Bush change course in Iraq -- the issue set to dominate US politics in the months to come.

But the opposition politicians who will control key levers of power following Tuesday's legislative elections have offered few clear ideas for how to deal with the disastrous situation in the country US troops invaded more than three years ago.

"Nowhere did the American people make it more clear that we need a new direction than in the war in Iraq," said Pelosi.

Democratic lawmakers have powerful Republican allies in the push for a shift in Iraq policy and they stressed their readiness Wednesday to seek a bipartisan solution to the crisis that has left more than 2,800 US soldiers dead.

"We extend the hand of a cooperation to the president (and) our colleagues across the aisle," said Rahm Emanuel, another leading Democratic congressman.

"We'll work with you when we agree, challenge you when we don't. Our goal will always be the best interests of our country."

There is no doubt that following Tuesday's election Bush will have to make some tough choices on Iraq, where US forces suffered their heaviest casualties in nearly two years last month and where sectarian violence threatens to unleash full-scale civil war.

Many analysts expect the framework for the policy shift will emerge from recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group headed by former Republican secretary of state James Baker and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton.

Experts helping draw up the Baker-Hamilton report said it would recommend a regional approach involving engagement with Iraq neighbors Syria and Iran to help stabilize the country and open the door for a gradual drawdown of US troops.

The report is also expected to push for a new US drive to break the stalemate in efforts to create a Palestinian state.

Both recommendations would require a major shift in Bush's policy of isolating Damascus and Tehran while refusing to press Israel for concessions needed to help break the deadlock in negotiations with the Palestinians.