Former Secretary of State John Kerry said former President Barack Obama should have followed through on his infamous “red line” warning to Syria, and the United States “paid a price” as a result of Obama’s inaction.
Obama vowed in 2012 that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime used chemical weapons on civilians, it would be a “game changer” for U.S. military involvement in Syria.
But Obama failed to enforce the promise a year later when hundreds of Syrians were killed in a sarin gas attack, and he instead brokered a multi-nation deal in which Assad pledged to remove his chemical weapons stockpile.
Former Secretary of State @JohnKerry says the U.S. was hurt when President Obama didn’t punish Syria’s president for using chemical weapons on his own people.
Tuesday on @CBSThisMorning, Kerry will join us live in Studio 57. pic.twitter.com/R5EBW8Qu1H
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) September 3, 2018
On “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Kerry said he was unable to persuade Obama that Assad “needed to be taught a lesson,” and it’s “regrettable” the red line was not enforced.
“I put several ideas on the table. The president was not persuaded by my argument. I believed that we had several options we could have done at very low risk to be able to make it clear to Assad that when we had a cease fire and when he said he was going to live by it, he had to live by it. And I thought we should have done that,” Kerry said.– READ MORE
[divider][/divider]President Trump on Monday tweeted that he would be “so lucky” if former Secretary of State John Kerry launched a White House bid to challenge Trump in 2020.
“I see that John Kerry, the father of the now terminated Iran deal, is thinking of running for President. I should only be so lucky – although the field that is currently assembling looks really good – FOR ME!” Trump tweeted.
I see that John Kerry, the father of the now terminated Iran deal, is thinking of running for President. I should only be so lucky – although the field that is currently assembling looks really good – FOR ME!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018
Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, did not rule out a potential 2020 White House bid during an interview on Sunday. He said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that talking about the 2020 race is a “distraction.” – READ MORE
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