US must not quit despite 'ugly' combat: Rumsfeld

(L-R) US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, US President George W Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Peter Pace (R) stand together during a full armed forces retirement ceremony for Rumsfeld at the Pentagon on Friday in Arlington, Virginia. Robert Gates will be sworn in on Dec 18 as Rumsfeld's successor. PHOTO: AFP

At a farewell ceremony for Rumsfeld on the grounds of the Pentagon, President George W. Bush heaped praise on him, while Vice President Dick Cheney called him the best defence secretary the United States ever had.

Bush announced last month that Rumsfeld would be replaced by former CIA chief Robert Gates after the president's Republicans lost control of Congress, in large part due to voter anger over the Iraq war. Gates takes office on Monday.

"It may well be comforting to some to consider graceful exits from the agonies and, indeed, the ugliness of combat. But the enemy thinks differently," Rumsfeld said at the ceremony, which featured a military parade and brass-band music.

Although he did not mention Iraq in that portion of his speech, his remarks were likely to be seen as a swipe at those calling for a swift withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

He also offered some criticism of US allies.

"Ours is a world of unstable dictators, weapon proliferators and rogue regimes, and each of these enemies seeks out our vulnerability," he said.

"Ours is also a world of many friends and allies, but sadly, realistically, friends and allies with declining defence investment and declining capabilities," he added.

He said that made those allies increasingly vulnerable, requiring the United States to invest more in defence.

Rumsfeld was a star of the Bush administration in the months following the September 11 attacks on the United States. He won praise for a swift campaign to oust Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and his confident televised briefings were popular.

"This man knows how to lead and he did -- and the country is better off for it," Bush declared at Friday's ceremony.

"In every decision Don Rumsfeld made over the past six years, he always put the troops first. And the troops in the field knew it," Bush said.

Cheney, a longtime friend and associate of Rumsfeld, went even further. "I believe the record speaks for itself -- Don Rumsfeld is the finest secretary of defence this nation has ever had," he said.