As US and global news sources reported the death of former US politician and secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld last night, AP's first headline has sparked strong online backlash as it called him "a leader undermined by Iraq war."
Ah yes, that great victim of the Iraq War, Donald Rumsfeld.
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) June 30, 2021
This is an embarrassment @AP, and an insult to hundreds of thousands of innocent victims of this war criminals actions. pic.twitter.com/LkoQq3t2Sh
Rumsfeld who died at the age of 88 was a two-time defense secretary and one of the most-known military figures in the US. He took charge of the defense department for the first time between 1975 and 1977 under the Gerald Ford administration, before taking it again between 2001 and 2006 under the George W. Bush administration, which continues to be his most notable position.
However, the wording of AP's headline announcing his death has angered many social media users as it described him as "undermined" by the war in Iraq. According to online people, Rumsfeld holds major responsibility for 150,000 Iraqi war casualties reported by the Iraq Family Health Survey between 2003 and 2006, in addition to near 4,000 US army combats.
This war was started on lies and continued to make make money for #US war industries. The victims? Thousands of #Iraqi innocent people. https://t.co/zI4dvmhr4Q
— Nafisa Abdel (@NafisaAbdel) July 1, 2021
@AP this is how mainstream media constructs narrative & manufactures consent for illegal Wars https://t.co/eAmd0XhGzM
— جو (@swayinthewoods) July 1, 2021
On Twitter, users urged media sources to remember victims of wars waged by Rumsfeld instead of glorifying him. Consequently, online backlash has resulted in AP's decision to change the headline in which they framed Rumsfeld as "undermined by the war in Iraq."
So AP's version of "unbiased reporting" apparently means a headline that lavishes praise - while removing culpability - on an accused war criminal responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilianshttps://t.co/hZpPgPeY4i
— Adam Elmahrek (@adamelmahrek) June 30, 2021
Online people also shared photos and videos of Rumsfeld's meetings with Saddam Hussien in the wake of the Iraqi-Iranian war, in which the US supported Saddam in the war, decades before invading Iraq to end his rule under the pretext of ending his dictatorship.
Donald Rumsfeld, the man who engineered the selling of chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein, and then who participated in the destruction of Iraq, has been recalled by the devil. pic.twitter.com/BPc0ThYPcv
— Vijay Prashad (@vijayprashad) June 30, 2021
Given his passing today, let's do some of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's greatest hits (add your own below).
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) June 30, 2021
Here he is, in 2002, being asked about his 1983 meeting with Saddam Hussain. Rumsfeld's "isn't that interesting...there I am" lives in my head rent free. pic.twitter.com/h4PifdOe1r
In addition to his notable role as defense secretary, Rumsfeld sought nomination for the Republican party's candidate for president in 1988 but withdrew his bid before the primaries.
