Obama keeps apologizing for US: Rumsfeld

US President Barack Obama has a habit of apologizing for the US and did nothing to earn his Nobel Peace Prize, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday.

Asked whether Obama had turned international favor back toward the US after eight years of George W. Bush's administration, Rumsfeld rejected the premise.

"No, and I don't think there's data that supports that," he said in an interview with CNN. "I think he has made a practice of trying to apologize for America."

Rumsfeld said Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize "on hope" instead of his accomplishments.

"Well, he had not accomplished a thing when he got the Nobel Prize. It was given to him on hope. Had to have been because there wasn't anything that he'd done. He'd been in office 15 minutes," Rumsfeld said.

When he was awarded the prize, Obama acknowledged that he did not feel deserving of the honor, only months after becoming president.

AFP