Source: University of Western Ontario
http://communications.uwo.ca/media_newsroom/story.html?listing_id=22237 Expert on Rumsfeld ResignationNovember 8, 2006 Peter Ferguson, professor of Political Science at The University of Western Ontario, specializes in American politics. He can be reached for comment regarding the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld at 519-661-2111, ext 82236 (office), 519-438-4524 (home), or pfergus4@uwo.ca "President George Bush said he had been considering such a change for a while but didn't want to inject a major military change into the stretch run of the election. Given Bush's claim that he didn't speak with Bob Gates until yesterday regarding taking up the position of Secretary of Defense, it appears he was waiting until the last second to see if the mood of the voters would change." "The results however, indicate widespread opposition to the direction of the war and removing Rumsfeld seems to be an acknowledgement of the necessity to reexamine U.S. policy in Iraq. The facts that the President pointed to the value of bringing in a 'fresh perspective' on the war and that Gates was a member of the Baker/Hamilton Study Group on Iraq, would seem to indicate the White House believes they will be able to rely on the Study Group's recommendations as a basis for reformulating U.S. policy in Iraq." Media contact: Jeff Renaud, Communications & Public Affairs, 519-661-2111, ext. 85165. Commentary reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed.
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