Colbert Nearly Goads Rumsfeld Into Admitting Iraq Intelligence Was Faulty (VIDEO)

Colbert Rumsfeld interview
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Stephen Colbert delicately provoked a discussion about the limited information made available to the American public in the lead-up to the Iraq War during Donald Rumsfeld’s Monday night appearance on “The Late Show.”

Colbert twisted the former defense secretary’s infamous knowns-and-unknowns statement to ask if the U.S. government manipulated a fourth category of knowledge, which he dubbed an “unknown known,” by neglecting to state publicly that their intelligence about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction was not 100 percent sound.

“The president had available to him intelligence from all elements of the government,” Rumsfeld replied. “And the National Security Council members had that information. It was all shared. It was all supplied. And it’s never certain. If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.”

“Wow,” a surprised-looking Colbert responded. “I think you answered my question.”

The 83-year-old Rumsfeld was visiting the show to promote his new “Churchill Solitaire” app, but Colbert steered the conversation to the Iraq War for close to ten minutes.

Watch the interview segment below:

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