Former defense secretaries Robert Gates and Leon Panetta criticized
President Obama's strategy regarding the Syrian civil war Tuesday, with
both agreeing that Obama should not have sought the approval of Congress
for a military strike against the forces of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.
Speaking at a forum in Dallas, Gates and Panetta, Obama's first two defense secretaries, disagreed on whether the United States should ultimately carry out a military strike in retaliation for a chemical attack that the U.S. says killed 1,400 people. However, both expressed skepticism (and occasionally sarcasm) about ongoing negotiations, led by Russia, for Assad to hand over his stockpile of chemical weapons to the international community.
Panetta said he supported a strike because Obama needed to enforce the "red line" he set over Syria's use of chemical weapons.
Speaking at a forum in Dallas, Gates and Panetta, Obama's first two defense secretaries, disagreed on whether the United States should ultimately carry out a military strike in retaliation for a chemical attack that the U.S. says killed 1,400 people. However, both expressed skepticism (and occasionally sarcasm) about ongoing negotiations, led by Russia, for Assad to hand over his stockpile of chemical weapons to the international community.
Panetta said he supported a strike because Obama needed to enforce the "red line" he set over Syria's use of chemical weapons.
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