Rumsfeld: Iraq mistakes could provide obstacle for Syrian action; defends invasion
On “New Day,” former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that getting it wrong in Iraq could be part of the obstacle to getting support for taking action in Syria. When CNN’s Chris Cuomo asked if people who think that intelligence was manipulated in Iraq creates suspicion over proof of the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons, Rumsfeld replied that people who believe that about Iraq are “on the fringe” and defended invading Iraq. Later in the interview, Rumsfeld said that Russia is a “very close ally of Iran and they’ve been assisting them with their nuclear program” and that President Putin’s “values are not our values.”
On mistakes in Iraq providing an obstacle to getting involved in Syria, Rumsfeld said, “I suppose it’s part of the problem. If intelligence were a fact it would be called a fact, and not intelligence. And I think when Colin Powell went before the United Nations with George Tenet, the Director of Intelligence, and talked about the intelligence they had in great detail and then it turned out that stockpiles were not found – that people were cautious and began to recognize that intelligence is intelligence and not necessarily a fact.”
On people thinking intelligence on Iraq was manipulated, Rumsfeld answered, “I think not. In fact, I have not heard people say that, responsibly. And if you’ll recall, Congress looked at the same intelligence and came to the same conclusions and there were… prominent Democrats who enthusiastically supported it. President Clinton had signed a resolution supporting regime change in Iraq. And the United Nations had 17 resolutions against Saddam Hussein. I think that there may be people on the fringe who say the kind of thing that you’re saying, but I don’t think anyone responsible has said anything like that.”
“I think that [Russia is] very close ally of Iran and they’ve been assisting them with their nuclear program. They supply weapons for them. Iran and Syria are close allies and have been active in supporting terrorist groups around the world that have killed innocent men, women and children, to say nothing of killing Americans,” Rumsfeld said. “Putin’s interests [are] not our interests. His values are not our values. The idea that the reset button would change and make everyone like each other is utter nonsense. Putin gets up in the morning and approaches the world from a quite different standpoint than we do. And I watch it and listen to it and the idea that a make nice to Putin approach is going to change his approach to the world, I think, is simply not going to work and hasn’t thus far and is unlikely to, prospectively.”
When Cuomo asked Rumsfeld if there are any mistakes in Iraq that he would like to point out to the administration so that they’re not repeated, Rumsfeld said, “It seems to me that the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein. He killed hundreds of thousands of people. He used chemical weapons against his own people and against his neighbors. He was called the butcher of Baghdad for good reason. And the people of that country have a chance to make a better life for themselves and they’re working on it hard.”
“New Day” airs weekday mornings from 6-9 a.m. ET on CNN.