On Tuesday, former United States defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld died at the age of 88. Washington is mostly lauding his career, which saw him work under four different American presidents.
The public service embodied by officials such as Rumsfeld is a celebrated vocation across the globe. But he was working at a time when America, a country with huge influence globally, made a number of moral, legal and strategic mistakes. The reaction in the US might be sadness at the loss of a well-known public figure, but abroad his legacy will be far more complex.
Rumsfeld was defence secretary when America launched both its 2001 Afghanistan campaign and, two years later, the invasion of Iraq. Both sought to overthrow brutal regimes, and both succeeded in doing so. Other objectives proved harder, notably the coalition's efforts to disrupt the activity of global terrorists, particularly Al Qaeda. And some never manifested at all. The Bush administration partly justified the war in Iraq on the claim that Saddam Hussein, the country's former president, was developing weapons of mass destruction. A year after the invasion, a coalition fact-finding mission concluded that the country’s nuclear weapons programme had, in actual fact, ceased over a decade ago.
Rumsfeld with US soldiers in Baghdad. Reuters
The Middle East lives with largest burden of this complex era
Removing Iraq’s former president was always going to be crucial in rebuilding a stable country. After decades of brutal rule, Iraqis were hopeful for a better future when Hussein's regime ended. They were willing to give the international coalition, led by the US, a chance. But the promise of change for the better did not pan out.
The mission quickly became bogged down by the coalition's fundamentally flawed approach to its responsibilities in the country. It paved the way for some of the most legally and morally controversial decisions in American history, which have arguably diluted the force of international law irrevocably. The era even normalised offensive disregard by American policymakers towards the region. As chaos unfolded in the Iraqi capital after the invasion, Rumsfeld famously dismissed the disasters that were witnessed, saying “stuff happens”.
This is why the legacies of key officials during the era – Rumsfeld is one – are going to be complex for the many Iraqis and Afghans whose lives have been altered by US policy in the region, particularly during a year that has already had its fair share of symbolic moments. The world is coming up to the 20th anniversary of September 11, the spark that led to the invasions of 2001 and 2003. Two decades on, US President Joe Biden is expected to finish a total withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, a move that many fear will condemn the country to another Taliban government. The former president of the country, Hamid Karzai, who welcomed Joe Biden to Kabul in 2011, recently called Nato's 20-year campaign a "failure". President Biden is also thought to be beginning the process of closing Guantanamo Bay, a militarised detention facility that held alleged terrorists without trial, a symbol for many of America shirking moral responsibility during the War on Terror.
The Middle East lives with largest burden of this complex era, which was fuelled by the governments that Rumsfeld served. The region, therefore, is entitled to its own kind of reflection.
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior Ministry of Defence General Intelligence Directorate Air Force Intelligence Agency Political Security Directorate Syrian National Security Bureau Military Intelligence Directorate Army Supply Bureau General Organisation of Radio and TV Al Watan newspaper Cham Press TV Sama TV
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
