Rumsfeld addressed a gathering one day after US President George W Bush announced he was replacing the secretary following the defeat of the Republican party in congressional elections earlier this week that reflected public anger over the war in Iraq.
Rumsfeld said that the invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime was 'an enormous success' but that 'in phase two of this, it has not been going well enough or fast enough.' He spoke at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.
Pressure has mounted on Rumsfeld, 74, to resign during the last year, his critics charging that he mismanaged the post-invasion conflict and failed to halt a bloody insurgency that has claimed the vast majority of the more than 2,800 American soldiers who have died in the conflict.
When taking questions, Rumsfeld refused to grade his job performance for the six years he has served as military chief.
'I'd let history worry about that,' Rumsfeld quipped.
Bush has named Robert Gates, the director of the CIA from 1991 to 1993, as Rumsfeld's replacement. Rumsfeld will stay on the job until the Senate confirms Bush's nominee.
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