Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered a strong public defense of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a Southern Command (Southcom) ceremony in Miami, saying Rumsfeld leads according to divine guidance and is unmatched in energy and dedication.
The event marked the transfer of Southcom's leadership, with Navy Admiral James Stavridis, 51, taking command from General Bantz Craddock. Stavridis, a former senior aide to Rumsfeld, praised the secretary's commitment to national security, calling him passionate, determined, and brilliant.
Craddock, moving on to lead allied forces in Europe, credited Southcom with advancing both the global war on terror and regional stability in Latin America.
As the new Southcom commander, Stavridis will oversee military partnerships across Latin America and manage the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently holds more than 400 terror-related detainees.
The public show of military support came as Rumsfeld faced mounting criticism and resignation calls over his management of the Iraq war.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.