Donald Rumsfeld is to stay on as US defence secretary, surviving the overhaul of President George W. Bush's cabinet after his election victory, a senior US official said Friday. The official said Rumsfeld, 72, was staying at the request of Bush as the United States presses crucial campaigns in the war on terror and in Iraq.
The defence secretary, one of the so-called "hawks" of the Bush administration, was closely involved in the decision to invade Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and more controversially Iraq in March, 2003.
"The president and secretary Rumsfeld spoke on Monday, the president asked him to stay, the secretary agreed, and the president is very pleased," the official said.
"This is a time of real challenge. We are waging a war against terror, and at this critical juncture Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person for this position," the official said.