Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld derides disparaging comments about him in newly leaked emails of former secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice as "juvenile," MSNBC reported.
In an interview set for broadcast Wednesday morning, Rumsfeld brushes off one email critique from Rice about his Iraq War legacy.
According to MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhl, one email from Rice stated: "If Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon did their jobs better, the Iraq War would have turned out better."
"Is it fun to get on an email and say bad things about other people?" Rumsfeld, one of the chief architects of the 2003 war against Iraq, responded. "I suppose that it helps them feel better, but I found it juvenile."
Rumsfeld goes on to say the George W. Bush administration did well "overall."
"I give President Bush and his administration pretty good marks," he said. "Perfect? Heck no."
Powell's leaked emails have been posted by the website DCLeaks.com, which has been alleged to be an outlet for hackers tied to Russian intelligence.
Rumsfeld told MSNBC he "felt a little badly for Colin and Condi" about the hacked emails.
"They were kind of equal opportunity critics of everybody that they wrote about, except each other," he said.
"What did I think about it? I think 'Oh, sure, was everything done perfectly?' I doubt that. I think there's a role for the Department of State, there's a role for the Department of Defense, there's a role for . . . the White House."
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