A leading candidate for the Republican nomination for the US Presidency, Senator John McCain, has launched a strong attack on the former Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
In a campaign speech in South Carolina, Senator McCain said he supported both the election and re-election of the US President, George W Bush.
Mr McCain said the war in Iraq has been mismanaged for years and Mr Rumsfeld would be remembered as one of the worst defence secretaries in history.
He said the US is 'paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement- that's the kindest word I can give you - of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war. The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously.'
Mr McCain, who is the ranking Republican on the US Senate's Armed Services Committee, complained that Mr Rumsfeld never put enough troops on the ground to succeed in Iraq.
Fielding questions, Mr McCain said the US can succeed in Iraq with additional troops and a new strategy.
He has been a strong proponent of using more troops and favours Mr Bush's increase of some 21,500 US forces in the nearly four-year-old war.
His remarks on Mr Rumsfeld were in sharp contrast to his statement when the US Defence Secretary resigned in November, and did not refer to the role of Mr Bush, as commander-in-chief.
When Mr Rumsfeld stepped down last year, Mr McCain said: 'While Secretary Rumsfeld and I have had our differences, he deserves Americans' respect and gratitude for his many years of public service.'
