Former U.S. defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld showed flashes of his defiant and combative style on Thursday when questioned about his legacy, less than 24 hours after he resigned.  

Following a speech at Kansas State University, Rumsfeld — one of the lead architects of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq — was asked by an audience member to give a grade of his performance as defence secretary.

"I'd let history worry about that," Rumsfeld said bluntly, which garnered hefty applause from a largely approving audience.

Iraqis cheer his departure

Rumsfeld's comments came as many Iraqis cheered his departure, blaming him for policy failures and scandals they say helped spawn daily sectarian carnage that has thrown the country into chaos.

But news of Rumsfeld's resignation and a Democratic victory in U.S. mid-term elections failed to quell the violence on Thursday, as nearly simultaneous car bombs struck two markets in predominantly Shia areas of Baghdad, killing at least 16 people.

"Rumsfeld's resignation shows the scale of the mess the U.S. has made in Iraq," said Ibrahim Ali, 44, who works at the Oil Ministry. "The efforts by American politicians to hide their failure are no longer working."

Iraq's government has yet to comment on Rumsfeld's resignation, announced Wednesday after the U.S. Democratic party won a sweeping victory in mid-term elections in which voter discontent over the war in Iraq played a major role.

However, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has in recent weeks grown increasingly critical of U.S. policies and pushed for his government to assume more responsibility for security from U.S.-led coalition forces.

U.S. 'on the right side of history'

During his speech, Rumsfeld paid tribute to America's military for their efforts in the U.S.-led war on terror.

"I feel so fortunate to have been able to participate and serve at important times in our people's history and to do it with people like that," he said, pointing to a soldier in uniform in the crowd. "Folks, I thank you for all you've done, all you're doing and all you will do."

He also said great strides have been accomplished in Iraq, but added he believes the war against extremists cannot be won by the U.S. alone.

"America is not what's wrong in the world," he said. "We are on the side of good. We are on the right side of history."

Changes expected in U.S. Iraq policy

Many in Baghdad said they expect changes in the U.S. military's approach under Rumsfeld's expected replacement, former CIA director Robert Gates.

"I think that there will a shift in the U.S. policy in Iraq after his resignation," said Osama Ahmed, 50, a civil servant.

What changes could be in store aren't yet clear, though ideas for a new strategy are being studied by an independent U.S. commission led by former secretary of state James Baker and former Democratic representative Lee Hamilton of Indiana.

The White House says it is opposed to two prominent options — the partitioning of Iraq or a phased withdrawal of troops.

Failed policies

Whatever suggestions are put forward, however, Iraqis said Rumsfeld's departure was a positive move.

"Rumsfeld's resignation is a good step, because he failed to keep security in Iraq," said Saad Jawad, 45, a former army officer who also works at the Oil Ministry.

Many Iraqis blamed Rumsfeld for spurring the emergence of Sunni insurgents and Shia militias by disbanding the former Iraqi army following the April 2003 toppling of the former government of Saddam Hussein.

"I am happy with Rumsfeld's resignation, because he played a major role in disbanding the former Iraqi army. He participated in building the new army on a sectarian basis," said Louai Abdel-Hussein, 48, a Shia who owns a small grocery store in Baghdad.

Although that order was actually issued by the former top U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, such sentiments show how widely Rumsfeld is identified with failed policies in Iraq.

Ahmed, the civil servant, said Rumsfeld should also be held responsible for crimes by American forces in Iraq, particularly the abuse of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison that became known in 2004.

"Rumsfeld's resignation is not enough," Ahmed said. "He should be put under investigation for his responsibility in the crimes committed in Abu Ghraib and the killings and rapes carried out by U.S. soldiers against Iraqi citizens," he said.

Rumsfeld had twice previously offered his resignation to Bush — once during the Abu Ghraib scandal and again shortly after that. Both times the president refused to let him leave.

Sentiments toward the resignation among the roughly 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq weren't widely known, though Col. Al Kelly, commander of 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, said he didn't see it as "either positive or negative at this point."

"There are a lot of decisions that he's made that people aren't happy with," Kelly told Associated Press Television News in Taji, just north of Baghdad.

"But he made some hard decisions and when you're in that kind of position, you're not always going to be … liked by everybody," Kelly said.

With files from the Associated Press