Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who ushered the U.S. into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, said the Obama administration has not clearly justified an attack on Syria. "One thing that is very interesting, it seems to me, is that there really hasn't been any indication from the administration as to what our national interest is with respect to this particular situation," Rumsfeld said in an interview with Fox News's Neil Cavuto.
– The architect of the Iraq war believes that President Obama hasn't given sufficient justification for military action against Syria. "There really hasn't been any indication from the administration as to what our national interest is" in Syria, Donald Rumsfeld tells CNN. He continues: "When you think about what’s really important in that region—it’s Iran’s nuclear program and the relationship between Iran and Syria, the Assad regime, with respect to terrorists that go around killing innocent men, women and children, including Americans." At the same time, Rumsfeld thinks the administration has said too much about what it might do. "I can’t imagine what they’re thinking," he said. "The idea of demystifying for the enemy what you're going to do is mindless." Of course, even if Rumsfeld had a point, he'd be a really terrible messenger for it, given his role in Iraq, argues Steve Benen at Rachel Maddow's blog. "If Rumsfeld is out of the penalty box and welcome to appear in public again, at an absolute minimum, he should avoid claiming any degree of credibility on the use of force," he writes.