Arlington, Va.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has all but disappeared from public view since the Abu Ghraib scandal broke in April, the Associated Press reported this week. Since CBS News broadcast the first photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison, Rumsfeld has appeared in the Pentagon briefing room just twice, once in May and once in June. Before the scandal he held several major news conferences every month. “Donald Rumsfeld has gone from being the most popular spokesperson for Bush administration policies to something of a pariah,” said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a libertarian think tank. Rumsfeld’s disappearance has rekindled speculation that he may step down. The Bush administration says the rumors are unfounded.
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