An interesting article at TIME.com about former US secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld:
What’s next for Donald Rumsfeld? The former Defense Secretary, not surprisingly, has had talks with publishers about the possibility of writing a book. But a longtime adviser tells Time.com that Rumsfeld has other, even more ambitious, plans.
Rumsfeld, who was Pentagon boss from 2001 to 2006 and oversaw the planning and execution of the Iraq war, is in the early stages of setting up an educational foundation that would provide fellowships to citizens who want to try their hand at public service.
The foundation, which is still in the idea stage and thus remains unnamed, would be financed by Rumsfeld himself and provide funds for Americans with experience outside of government to do a stint in public service.
Such an approach would match Rumsfeld’s own career in government, which was dotted with long stretches of time in the private sector. He was elected to Congress in the early 1960s, did stints in the Nixon and Ford administrations and briefly in the Reagan era. In between, he ran several large corporations and became quite wealthy. He returned to Washington in 2001 as Defense Secretary after nearly a two-decade absence. He resigned last November as public support for the war in Iraq collapsed.
Rumsfeld was in New York this week meeting with a executives from a number of different publishing houses.
Though he has no stated plans to write his memoir, he is open to the idea. “He hasn’t made a decision to write a book,” said Larry Di Rita, a former spokesman who Rumsfeld authorized to speak to time.com. “He is not shopping a proposal. That’s not where his head is. He is still in the information gathering stage.”
I do hope that Rumsfeld will pen down his memoirs: it would be fascinating to read the story of one of the worst secretaries of defense in modern US history.
No, seriously: it would be fascinating to read about his great career (which it was, whether you’re a fan of Rumsfeld or not, you’ve got to admit that he had one heck of a career), and, more specifically, about his years as SecDef under George W. Bush. Definitely a book I would buy.
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