Rumsfeld unapologetic about Iraq

Since leaving the Pentagon, Donald Rumsfeld has purposefully assumed a low profile, giving few public speeches and granting few interviews. The former defense secretary maintains an office in Washington that allows him ready access to his Pentagon files and has facilitated his work with the Library of Congress to archive his personal papers. But he spends large chunks of his time at two other homes outside Washington - an old manor in St. Michaels, Md., and a farm in Taos, N.M.

In my own early contacts with him as I began work on a biography, Rumsfeld wanted to be sure I saw the many letters of praise and kind words he had received following the announcement of his resignation. He had sorted the letters according to source - members of Congress, foreign dignitaries, U.S. military personnel, former associates, friends - and filed them in large, three-ring binders. The correspondence noted Rumsfeld's contributions to the war on terrorism, commended him for his drive to transform the U.S. military and thanked him for his public service.