The Aspect of George W. Bush’s Iraq Policy That Donald Rumsfeld Says Was ‘Unrealistic’

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in an interview published Sunday that he was "concerned" with President George W. Bush's desire to implement desire to implement democracy in Iraq.

“I’m not one who thinks that our particular template of democracy is appropriate for other countries at every moment of their histories," Rumsfeld, a staunch defender of the Iraq War, told The Times. “The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic."

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"I was concerned about it when I first heard those words,” Rumsfeld added. “I’m not one who thinks that our particular template of democracy is appropriate for other countries at every moment of their histories.”

The former defense secretary also hit President Barack Obama for his policy on the Islamic State.

"If leaders aren’t willing to (confront the Islamic State), why the hell should a guy with a wife and kids in the community put himself at risk?” Rumsfeld told the British newspaper.

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