imo, the question is not so much one of responsibility, but of accountability. as Albed points out, Rumsfeld has certainly taken responsiblity for various things, but the Prez is clearly unwilling to hold him (or anyone else, for that matter) accountable for their mistakes. the long series of miscalculations made with regards to intelligence, strategy, planning, policy etc. in Iraq are apparent and yet no one has been held accountable for them. you have a war started that affects millions, Americans sent off to die, billions of borrowed dollars spent, thousands killed, and all of these monumental decisions were made in an apparently consequence-free vacuum.
so it's quite easy for Rumsfeld to sit in front of Congress and take responsibility coz there are no personal consequences for his bad judgment. responsible? yes. accountable? no.
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