It seems as though decades have passed since the heydays of U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s ascendancy; back before critics were braying for his resignation over a few human rights snafus, back when this titan of American power strode across the international arena with great aplomb.

Nowadays, just a little over two years since his resignation on the day before the elections (which shifted control of the House and Senate back to the Democrats), Rumsfeld, and the Bush administration for that matter, seem like a distant memory. But many underestimate the important legacy left behind by Rumsfeld. Though arguably damaging, the man contributed to a dramatic shift in the balance of power in Europe, driven mostly by his diplomatic tactics to achieve support for the war in Iraq. Needless to say, Moscow experienced a generous increase in its influence during the Rumsfeld era, and benefited from a variety of poor foreign policy decisions during the two Bush administrations.

Last 5 posts by Robert Amsterdam

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