ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Rumsfeld is a man who used to have a very important job working for the government of the United States. He was the Secretary of Defense, which means he was in charge of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and all the other parts of the military.

He had this job twice – once in the 1970s and again in the 2000s. When he was in this job the second time, something called the September 11th attacks happened. This was a very scary event where people flew planes into buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C. Many people died and the country was very upset.

After this happened, Mr. Rumsfeld was very involved in the United States' response to the attacks. He helped to plan and carry out the war in Afghanistan, which is a country that's far away from the United States where the people who planned the attacks were hiding. Later on, he also helped to plan and carry out the war in Iraq, which is another country that's far away from the United States.

Some people thought that Mr. Rumsfeld did a good job, but others thought he made some mistakes. They thought that he didn't plan the wars very well and that too many people got hurt or died because he didn't do things the right way. Some people also thought he was too quick to go to war and didn't take enough time to think about other solutions.

Overall, people have different opinions about Mr. Rumsfeld and the work he did for the government. But it's important to remember that he had a very important job and made very big decisions that affected a lot of people.