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Rumsfeld to step down, Republicans say

President Bush said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is stepping down and former CIA Director and Texas A&M President Robert Gates will take over at the Pentagon and in prosecuting the war in Iraq.

In a news conference in Washington today, Bush congratulated Democrats on their election victories and said he looks forward to working with the opposition party.

Rumsfeld, a key target of Iraq war critics, apparently is stepping down in the wake of Democratic midterm election gains.

Earlier, Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, said he participated in meetings with Rumsfeld this morning and heard no talk of changing war strategies or of Rumsfeld leaving his post.

He said he did not know whether Rumsfeld had talked to President Bush about his future in light of the election results.

The focus of U.S. strategy for stabilizing Iraq remains the same, Ruff said: handing over more control to the Iraqi government and encouraging the leaders there to make political progress on reconciliation and resource sharing.

"They're moving and the (Iraqi) leadership is showing they are trying to get some things done," Ruff said.

Asked whether the election results would lead to changes in the military's approach in Iraq, Ruff said Rumsfeld would continue to rely heavily on the advice of U.S. commanders in Iraq, while consulting with the Congress.

"We work with the Congress ... on what our plans are," Ruff said. "We will continue to lay out to them what our goals are and what our strategies are." Beyond that, he said, he could not say what the impact of the elections might be.

Rumsfeld plans to deliver a long-scheduled speech on the global war on terrorism at Kansas State University on Thursday. Ruff said he did not know whether Rumsfeld would address the midterm election results in that speech.