WASHINGTON, March 29, (RIA Novosti) - Former Pentagon head Caspar Weinberger, who died Tuesday aged 88, helped the United States win the Cold War, the U.S. president said Wednesday.
George W. Bush said in a statement that Weinberger was "an American statesman and a dedicated public servant" who "worked to strengthen our military and win the Cold War."
As Defense Secretary under Ronald Reagan in 1981-1987, Weinberger oversaw the largest peacetime military buildup in history, at a cost of more than $1 trillion. He opposed concessions to Moscow and pressed for an increase in military spending, including the Strategic Defense Initiative, a program to build a land- and space-based missile shield commonly known as "Star Wars".
After resigning from the Pentagon, Weinberger came under fire in the Iran-Contra scandal that shook the Reagan administration. He was charged with lying to an independent counsel investigating the affair, but granted a pardon by George W. Bush Sr. days before the trial was due to start.
After he left the Pentagon, Weinberger was publisher and chairman of business magazine Forbes.
