Donald Rumsfeld, a forceful US defence secretary who was the main architect of the Iraq war until President George W Bush replaced him as the United States found itself bogged down after 3-1/2 years of fighting, has died at age 88, his family said in a statement yesterday.

"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather," the statement said. "At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico."

The statement did not say when Rumsfeld (above) died.

Rumsfeld who ranks with Vietnam War-era defence secretary Robert...