Diane Sawyer To Interview Donald Rumsfeld In Former Defense Secretary's First TV Interview Since 2006

Diane Sawyer will talk to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in his first television interview since 2006 next month. The conversation is slated to begin airing on ABC's "World News" on February 7, with segments also appearing on "Nightline" and "Good Morning America."

The interview will coincide with the release of Rumsfeld's memoir, Known and Unknown. ABC News reports:

In an ABC News exclusive, Diane Sawyer talks to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in his first television interview since leaving public service in November 2006.

Donald Rumsfeld has been a pivotal figure in recent American history. As Secretary of Defense on 9/11, Rumsfeld played a critical role in the war on terror, including the combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He has been at the center of some of the most passionately debated issues of our time and Sawyer explores his take on those subjects during their in-depth conversation. Viewers will gain new insight into the inner workings of the Bush administration as well as the personal life experiences that shaped Rumsfeld: from growing up as a child of the Depression to becoming both the youngest and oldest Defense Secretary in American history.

Sawyer's interview will begin airing on "World News" on Monday, February 7. Portions of the interview will also air on "Nightline" and "Good Morning America."

In another ABC News exclusive, George Stephanopoulos will have the first live television interview with Rumsfeld on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, February 8.

The interviews will coincide with the release of Rumsfeld's highly anticipated memoir, "Known and Unknown," which draws upon hundreds of previously classified and never before released documents.

ABCNews.com will launch a special webpage featuring content from "Known and Unknown" and links to key documents.

For more, visit ABC News.

Comments

[Deni]

02:45 PM on 01/09/2011

Rummy: someone else that should be held accountable for war crimes and won't be. The double standard is truly amazing.

[blogger x]

01:27 PM on 01/09/2011

i really hope she asks him tough questions. but she probably won't. and he wouldn't tell the truth anyways.

[ROBOT8]

01:09 PM on 01/09/2011

JUST GOES TO SHOW HOW EVIL PREVAILS WHEN A GUY LIKE RUMSFELD IS STILL ALIVE AND AND A GOOD PERSON LIKE ARIZONA REP. GIFFORD IS IN INTENSIVE CARE WITH 14 OTHERS SHOT AND 5 DEAD

[John Denton]

12:03 PM on 01/09/2011

"Don, how did you think you could get away with niney leven?" For that I would watch.

[nogimmicks]

05:51 PM on 01/08/2011

I hope she will ask Rumsfeld about this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kpWqdPMjmo

[dana94591]

03:44 PM on 01/08/2011

I really don't want to hear what Rummy has to say. He has said and done enough as far as I am concerned!!!

[blogger x]

01:26 PM on 01/09/2011

yeah enough harm.

[KayceW]

03:03 PM on 01/08/2011

Please ask him what happened to the Pentagon's 2.3 TRILLION DOLLARS that he announced went missing on 9/10/2001 - and we never heard about this money again. You can google this.

Finding those missing monies would provide provide Healthcare for all and add a lot of teachers to our public schools and give our kids a first class education.

[harriettubman]

02:35 PM on 01/08/2011

Who cares? I want to hear what Colin has to say but he'll never tell.

[disintaGreatNation]

12:40 PM on 01/08/2011

Mr. Rumsfeld, at a June 17, 2004, press conference, you admitted that you intentionally caused an Iraqi detainee, Hiwa Abdul Rahman Rashul, to be hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross. How can we find out more about this man's fate and, if he is still alive, his whereabouts?

[booker52]

10:09 AM on 01/08/2011

Count me as one viewer who won't be tuning in to hear more lies from this man.

[Richcrafter]

03:27 AM on 01/08/2011

How about under oath?

[tiredofpc]

02:31 AM on 01/08/2011

Ms. Sawyer, it's time to be a television journalist, following in the footsteps of Murrow, Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, Brokaw. See the following and then ask your questions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1FTmuhynaw

"Plausible Deniability" goes out the window on this one, so ask the real questions.

[tiredofpc]

01:35 AM on 01/08/2011

I'll wait until I see the interview, depending on whether or not I throw a brick through the tv before it's done. If someone was going to interview Mr. Rumsfeld, and instead of making it into free publicity for his forthcoming new book, why couldn't the person have been Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper or, even more useful, Chris Matthews. How about some of the reporters for the NY Times, the Washington Post, CBS, CNN, ABC, NBC; all those folks who were asleep at the wheel while the spin continued and this country continued to be thrown off the cliff by it's leaders?

[smithr17]

01:09 AM on 01/08/2011

I'm sure it will be raining SOFTBALLS!!!!

[Grim Al]

11:48 PM on 01/07/2011

I'd like to see Rumsfeld inteviewed by the soldiers in Afghanistan who asked him why they had to scavenge for metal in dumps to armor their Humvees. In reply to their questions he replied " you go to war with what you've got". Two or three years after the initial invasion, parents of soldiers still had to purchase and send over body armor for their loved ones on the front lines because they were still not adequately equipped. This Secretary of Defense failed in his duty to adequately plan, equip and provide for those who put their lives on the line to fight in his neocon imperialist war. One has to wonder how many lives and limbs and shattered family members could have been saved if they had been sent to war by a SecDef other than the one they got.