mr. rumsfeld, hello, mr rumsfeld, it's wab kinew with al jazeera. >> yes sir. >> i'd like to ask if i could speak to you for a minute. we're doing a documentary on guantanamo bay prison. >> you make an appointment with my office and see what happens. >> we've tried to contact you thru your office and they haven't (door slam) gotten back to us. mr rumsfeld we'd like to know why, how you justify detaining many men in guantanamo bay who are innocent and can't be tried in court. >> you've told the american people they're hardcore al qaeda operatives. you can't then suddenly say, "oh, made a mistake. these people were not really tough al qaeda operatives. oh, my god. we've got to reverse this. we've got to close this camp." you can't do that. it's politically impossible. >> we came to yemen to see what sort of life awaits the men after guantanamo. however no detainee has returned here since 2010. the one exception is adnan latif. he came back in 2012, in a body bag. >> it took more than three months from the day mohamed latif heard the news his brother adnan had been found dead in a cell, until

mr. rumsfeld.ack on your experience specifically with iraq, and any regrets you may have, is there any mistake that you see that would you like to point out to the administration in the hopes that it's not made again? >> you know, that's kind of a press's favorite question and i look at it, and 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. now, are we capable of nation building, the united states of america? no. i think we're not. i think people in a country have to build their own nation, and we don't speak those languages and we ought to be i think modest about any impression we have that we can do nation building and the idea that the template we have, that we've arrived at after hundreds

mr. rumsfeld. let's move on to something else.w better than anybody else the toll military action can take on the country. we're still dealing with fallout on iraq, we all know that. given that, do you think it's the better course to use military action in these circumstances or would you advise the administration to think about going heavier arming the rebels, letting them fight for themselves and heavy on humanitarian aid and wait in this situation? >> it seemed to me the time to have helped the rebels would have been a year or two before, before 100,000 people were killed. the effect might have been greater. where we are today, my personal view is, that what he has proposed is not something that will have a sufficient effect, that it's worth doing. i would personally not be in favor of supporting what he's proposing. >> that's an interesting perspecti perspective, in terms of what the effect will be. what about the notion how do we get out? obviously another part of the legacy of the iraq war? what's your advice, we haven't hea

mr. rumsfeld. >> there are known knowns. there are things we foe we know.so know there are known-unknowns. that is to say, we know there's some things we do not know. but they're also unknown-unknowns. the ones we don't know we don't know the. >> excuse me. but is this an unknown unknown? >> i'm not. >> several unknowns. >> i'm not going to say which it is. has it's ups and downs. seasonal... doesn't begin to describe it. my cashflow can literally change with the weather. anything that gives me some breathing room makes a big difference. the plum card from american express gives your business flexibility. get 1.5% discount for paying early, or up to 60 days to pay without interest, or both each month. i'm nelson gutierrez and i'm a member of the smarter money. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an asp

mr. rumsfeld. let's move on to something else. the toll that military action can take on the country. we're still dealing with fallout in iraq, right? we all know that. given that, do you think it is the better course right now to use military action in these circumstances or would you advise the administration to think about going heavier on arming the rebel, letting them fight for themselves, heavier on humanitarian aid and wait in this situation? >> well, it seemed to me that the time to have helped the rebels would have been a year or two before, before 100,000 people were killed and the effective it might have been greater. where we are today, my personal view is what he has proposed is not something that will have a sufficient effect that it's worth doing and i would, i would personally not be in favor of supporting what he's proposing. >> and that's an interesting per spec specktive in terms of what the effect will be. what about the notion of how do we get out? obviously, another part of the legacy of the iraq war. we have

believe it or not, the righties like rick santorum, marco rubio, michele bachmann, and donald rumsfeld, mr. expert, they are say nothing to an air strike on syria. i agree with them, but of course for completely different reasons, folks. the republicans, they don't hate war. they hate this guy, barack hussein obama. they just cannot stomach the fact that they might be agreeing with him, because they would have a lot of trouble back home. they have fought this president, obstructed this president, their whole focus is to make him a failure. how in the world can they support him on going up against syria? the level of spite in conservative hearts for president, is the only reason they are against war for the first time ever. donald rumsfeld, the man who lied our nation into a baseless bloody eight-year confrontation in iraq, is opposing military action, because he doesn't like the president, bottom line. here's what mr. faulty intelligence said earlier today. >> it's exactly the reason that there is not a large coalition wanting to support the president. it's a reason that the congress is co

in 2003, at the time the iraq war began, if we'd been able to say to rumsfeld, mr. secretary, what do you mean by doing things, he probably would have said something to the effect that, well, i say doing things, i mean winning things. that there was an expectation that really emerged in 2 aftermath of desert storm back in 1991 seemingly confirmed by the early success in afghanistan in 2001. that had created a very powerful expectation by 2003 that when we committed u.s. forces in combat, they're going to win, they're going to win quickly. they're going to win decisively, they're going to win economically. i mean, economically in terms of dollar costs and in terms of the sacrifices that would be imposed on the u.s. forces. now, were that, in fact, to -- were those expectations to be valid then sign me up. sign me up. give me some of the standing task forces that we can deploy when we're giving the president options, perhaps as rumsfeld suggesting the knowledge of our adversaries that we can do this perhapses going to cause them to think again. so if we can guarantee

donald rumsfeld and others criticizing this administration. first i asked him about "the new york times" video. mr. secretary, thank you for making the time today. i appreciate it. >> happy to be with you. >> there's a shocking video by "the new york times" posted today. it's syrian rebels executing captured assad soldiers, gunshot to the back of the head, naked. if the u.s. attacks syria, do those men in those videos become by definition our ally? >> no. in fact, i believe that those men in those videos are disadvantaged by an american response to the chemical weapons use because it, in fact, empowers the moderate opposition. we all know there are about 11 really bad opposition groups, so-called opposition. they're not -- they're fighting assad. they're not part of the opposition that is being supported by our friends and ourselves. that is a moderate opposition. they condemn what has happened today. and they are -- and we are busy separating the support we're giving from any possibility of that support going to these guys. >> how confident can we be, though, that that support can be cordoned off

mr. secretary, great to speak with you. thank you for being here. former secretary of defense donald rumsfeld.in has been in the center of this decision of whether to go into syria are not or strike syria. he got caught red-handed playing a poker game on his iphone during a hearing about that very topic. one person is loving it. we will tell you who. who is ready for some football? tonight and the rest of the season we take you behind the face of the company that helps protect those very players, keeping them safe. stay with us. ♪ thank you orville and wilbur... ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. and this park is the inside of your body. see, the special psyllium fir in metamucil actually gels to trap some carbs to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels. metamucil. 3 am

rumsfeld says it is president obama, not iraq, causing this lack of support throughout the world, broader support. >> interesting to hear from him. he is especially critical of the president's comments yesterday actually when mrd not drawn a red line, the world had. >> it is a stunning comment. it conjures up the thought of the uncertain trumpet or the trumpet that provides an uncertain sound. who will prepare themselves? it is exactly the reason that there is not a large coalition wanting to support the president. it is a reason that the congress is confused because he has spent so much time saying what he would not do and what it would not amount to that i think people are confused and the essence of leadership is clarity. and providing a vision. he has not done that, and i think as a result it is perfectly understandable that people in the congress are getting arranged to oppose what he is proposing because they find that it is uncertain and lacks clarity. >> rumsfeld's position is that the united states should go big or go home. it is interesting our colleague of course chris cuomo pressed him whether or not there were any mistakes made in iraq and he said one of the things he did acknowledge was that nat