Madeleine Albright on Susan Rice critics: "Sad" and "really outrageous" (CBS News) On the day after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice dropped out of the running for Secretary of State, her mentor and former boss at the State Department spoke out on her behalf. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright defended Rice -- who has faced a intense scrutiny over her handling of information regarding the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya -- calling the criticism "very political and sad" and adding that it "does not speak well for those who attacked her." Senator John McCain (R-AZ) had been one of the most vocal in the Senate in speaking out against Rice, saying she is "so disconnected with reality I don't trust her" on ABC's "This Week" in November. As a human being she does not deserve the attacks upon that were false. And they were really outrageous," Albright said Friday on "CBS This Morning." Albright praised Rice's work, explaining that she has known Rice since she was 4-years-old, and that she is a "remarkable person who has served our country in a number of different posts." In terms of her most recent position, Albright said she has done an "amazing job at the UN, making very clear what American national interests are." Turning to American interests in the Middle East, Albright expressed grave concern over the mounting violence in Syria and the potential for the turmoil to spill over into Turkey. She explained that Turkey is facing "very serious" refugee issues and that "as a NATO member," the U.S. has a responsibility to defend Turkey "as a sign that we do not want the problems in Syria to spread." And while she stopped short of urging military intervention in Syria, she warned that "people are very concerned about the use of chemical weapons and also lack of control over them," adding that the father of Syria's President Assad used chemical weapons against his own people." She said that right now, "President Obama has made it very clear that there is a line," but that more "deterrence and threats" might be necessary to prevent Assad from the use of chemical weapons. "This is where the international community ... would have to do something about it," she added.