* Rumsfeld was right only about the forces necessary to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

* He was wrong about the weapons of mass destruction that were the putative justification for this war.

* He was wrong about the forces necessary to secure Iraq's infrastructure and protect its people against looting and rampant crime.

* He was wrong about the cost of the occupation, which the administration claimed Iraq's oil revenues would cover and which is, instead, costing the U.S. billions of dollars.

* He was wrong about the scope and speed of reconstruction that would be required to restore and expand basic services to Iraq.

* He was wrong in believing that the U.S. could create and control a provisional government that would be sufficiently acceptable to the Iraqi people so as not to require propping up with a massive U.S. military presence.

* He was wrong about the degrees of resentment and hostility that a mismanaged and increasingly repressive U.S. occupation would provoke among ordinary Iraqis who originally hailed U.S. troops as liberators.

* He was wrong about when our soldiers could begin to come home. Instead, tours are being extended.

* And now, he is wrong in his dealings with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Rumsfeld either does not grasp or will not acknowledge that his own eagerness for war and poor planning for the ''peace'' in Iraq have endangered America's interests in the world, destabilized the Middle East and led to the deaths of hundreds of U.S. soldiers and thousands of Iraqis.

He should resign for the incalculable damage he has wrought on his country and the world. If he will not resign, he should be fired.

Laura Livesay
Eggleston, Va.