Rumsfeld uncertain whether Bush policies helped find bin Laden

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday
that he can’t conclude harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding
helped find Osama bin Laden.

“I have no idea, you’d have to ask the experts,” Rumsfeld
told The Hill when asked whether interrogation policies implemented by former
President George W. Bush were instrumental in locating bin Laden.

But he said the Bush administration deserves praise for
strengthening military special operations that killed the al Qaeda leader in a
nighttime raid.

{mosads}“There’s no question that these things take time and the
Bush presidency and his administration put in place some structures that put
pressure on terrorists and the intelligence gets accumulated over time,”
Rumsfeld said during an afternoon visit to Capitol Hill.

Rumsfeld rejoiced that intelligence officials finally
tracked down the man responsible for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
describing it as a victory not just for the U.S. but the entire global
community.

“It’s a good thing for the world,” he said.

Rumsfeld served as secretary of Defense under Bush in
December of 2001 when American forces narrowly missed capturing bin Laden at
the battle of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan.

Rumsfeld, who served as secretary until 2006,
noted he put emphasis on expanding the powers of special operations teams, such
as the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, which carried out the covert mission.  

“We put a great deal of effort into strengthening the
special operators, their equipment, their numbers and their authorities,” he
said. 

Rumsfeld isn’t ready, however, to make any sweeping
historical pronouncements about which president most deserves praise.

“But who knows about credit?” he said.