, WASHINGTON: Donald H. Rumsfeld, who resigned November 8th, took office with a mandate from President Bush to transform the Defense Department. This took on even more urgency when al Qaeda attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
That day, Rumsfeld felt the shock of the aircraft hitting the Pentagon and went into the courtyard. He helped triage the wounded in the courtyard before heading back to the National Military Command Center to start fighting back.
Rumsfeld helped craft the strategy that struck back at the Taliban in Afghanistan. He pushed for a flexible, mobile military response to Al Qaeda. U.S. special operations forces worked with Afghans from the Northern Alliance and from Pashtuns affiliated with Hamid Karzai to topple the Taliban regime. The secretary loved to show off a photo of an Army Special Forces soldier on horseback calling in smart bombs to strike Taliban targets.
Rumsfeld often said that picture showed new thinking that is key to the transition of the U.S. military to confront the threats of the future. He believed capabilities are more important than manpower in this new transformational military.
Rumsfeld took other steps, as well. He helped stand up U.S. Northern Command, amalgamated U.S. Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command into one joint command, and gave more responsibility to the Special Operations Command. Under Rumsfeld
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