A Rebel Libyan soldier is part of the militia to guard the streets in Beida City in eastern Libya on March 1, 2011. Libyan rebels said they have formed a military council in the eastern city of Benghazi in what could be a step towards creating a unified nationwide force against leader LibyanMoamer Kadhafi. UPI\Mohamaad Hosam | License Photo

A Libyan opposition forces fighter manages a mobile anti-aircraft gun in the city of Ajdabiya,160kms west of Benghazi, Libya on March 2, 2011. Gadhafi warned the West against intervening in the rebellion against his rule. UPI/Mohamaad Hosam | License Photo

Libyans sit next to anti-aircraft guns in Benghazi, Libya on March 2, 2011. Gadhafi warned the West against intervening in the rebellion against his rule. UPI/Mohamaad Hosam | License Photo

WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said if it were up to him he would not send U.S. troops into Libya.

Rumsfeld outlined the difference between the situation in Libya today and the one the U.S. faced in Iraq after Sept. 11, 2001 on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" show Tuesday.


He said Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi hasn't made a practice of continually provoking the international community unlike former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

"After he saw what happened to Saddam Hussein, he (Gadhafi) did not want to be Hussein," Rumsfeld said. "He gave up his nuclear program."

Rumsfeld said he didn't believe a popular revolt against Saddam Hussein had a high probability of succeeding.

He said he was not surprised by recent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

"The natural state of man is to want to be free," Rumsfeld said.

The former defense secretary has been on a speaking tour to promote his new book "Known and Unknown."