Rumsfeld was never a neoconservative; he was an obstreperous contrarian, committed not to putting forward any particular philosophy but to aggressively challenging whatever ideas his bureaucratic opponents and critics put forward.

That's the spirit I always liked about Rumsfeld's Rules. Unfortunately, on Iraq he viewed the uniformed military as his opponents and critics. Things might have gone much differently if he had decided to challenge Wolfowitz and Cheney instead.

Understanding Gates