US must not quit despite "ugly" combat -Rumsfeld

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a lightning rod for critics of the Iraq war, has urged the United States not to retreat in the face of ''the agonies and ugliness of combat.'' At a farewell ceremony for Rumsfeld on the grounds of the Pentagon yesterday, President George W Bush heaped praise on him, while Vice President Dick Cheney called him the best defense secretary the United States ever had.

Bush announced last month that Rumsfeld would be replaced by former CIA chief Robert Gates after the president's Republicans lost control of Congress, in large part due to voter anger over the Iraq war. Gates takes office on Monday.

''It may well be comforting to some to consider graceful exits from the agonies and, indeed, the ugliness of combat. But the enemy thinks differently,'' Rumsfeld said at the ceremony, which featured a military parade and brass-band music.

Although he did not mention Iraq in that portion of his speech, his remarks were likely to be seen as a swipe at those calling for a swift withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

He also offered some criticism of US allies.

''Ours is a world of unstable dictators, weapon proliferators and rogue regimes, and each of these enemies seeks out our vulnerability,'' he said.

''Ours is also a world of many friends and allies, but sadly, realistically, friends and allies with declining defense investment and declining capabilities,'' he added.

He said that made those allies increasingly vulnerable, requiring the United States to invest more in defense.

BUSH PRAISE Rumsfeld was a star of the Bush administration in the months following the September 11 attacks on the United States. He won praise for a swift campaign to oust Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and his confident televised briefings were popular.

''This man knows how to lead and he did -- and the country is better off for it,'' Bush declared at yesterday's ceremony.

''In every decision Don Rumsfeld made over the past six years, he always put the troops first. And the troops in the field knew it,'' Bush said.

Cheney, a longtime friend and associate of Rumsfeld, went even further. ''I believe the record speaks for itself -- Don Rumsfeld is the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had,'' he said.

Rumsfeld's reputation has been battered by the war in Iraq, where more than 2,940 US troops and at least tens of thousands of Iraqis have died as the country struggles with an insurgency, sectarian violence and Islamist militant attacks.

A growing chorus of critics, including retired generals, has accused Rumsfeld of ignoring military advice and not committing enough troops to stabilize Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

Only 36 percent of Americans now think the war in Iraq was worth fighting, compared with 70 percent shortly after the invasion, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll published this week.

Rumsfeld, 74, is the longest-serving member of Bush's Cabinet.

He also ran the Pentagon in the 1970s and is the second longest-serving defense secretary since the post was created in 1947. He is surpassed only by Robert McNamara, also associated with an unpopular conflict -- the Vietnam War.

Reuters PDS RS0838