Rumsfeld Dismisses Resignation Rumors

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2005 - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld isn't planning to leave his job anytime soon, he said here today.

"I have no plans to retire," Rumsfeld said on Capitol Hill after meeting with several members of Congress to discuss the situation in Iraq.

The secretary's comments came amid rumors and a news report that assert Rumsfeld would soon depart the Pentagon. "Those reports have been flying around since about four months after I assumed my post in 2001," he said.

A New York Daily News article published today speculated that Rumsfeld would leave his post early in 2006 after the new Iraqi government is formed following Iraq's Dec. 15 nationwide election.

Senior DoD officials seconded Rumsfeld's comments in brief remarks to Pentagon reporters here today. "He said he has no plans to do so," chief DoD spokesman Lawrence Di Rita told reporters.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said many of the legislators Rumsfeld met with today had recently visited Iraq.

Biography:

Donald H. Rumsfeld [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld_bio.html]

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