Dead wrong

Kerry: Critics of decision not to strike Syria are 'dead wrong'

By Nick Gass

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday defended President Barack Obama's decision not to strike Syria more than two years ago over its chemical weapons, with one simple reason: diplomacy prevailed.

Responding to a question on whether American allies and enemies could take the U.S. seriously after it did not take military action against the regime in 2013, Kerry said he was glad the question was asked, explaining why the administration did not follow through with airstrikes. Obama had remarked in 2012 that evidence of Syria having chemical weapons would point to a red line being crossed.

"I accept that friends of ours have decided that the president's non-strike has somehow impacted perceptions of us. But I believe they are dead wrong, and I think the critics are dead wrong, and here's why: The president made his decision to strike. He announced his decision to strike publicly, and the purpose of the strike was to get the chemical weapons out of Syria. That's the purpose," Kerry told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday in response to a question from Nicole Wallace, a former communications adviser for George W. Bush.

Pressed further on whether it speaks to the issue of the U.S. not backing up its words with actions, Kerry explained that the political and diplomatic calculus changed in the days before the planned strike in August 2013. British Parliament unexpectedly voted against joining the U.S.-led strikes on Syria on Aug. 30, 2013.

"Now how in the wake of Britain's Parliament deciding no in a democratic fashion, with congressmen screaming, you've got to come to us, can the president decide to stiff democracy in America and say no? We anticipated winning that vote and winning it quickly," Kerry said.

And then the following month, the secretary noted, the U.S. and Russia reached a framework on seizing and eliminating all of the Assad regime's chemical weapons. The Obama administration announced in August 2014 that the stockpile of declared Syrian chemical weapons had been destroyed. Those efforts do not appear to have eliminated every threat of chemical weapons, as evidenced by a Wall Street Journal report in May that detailed shortcomings and complications.

Kerry also commented on Monday's meeting between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it "genuinely constructive" and "very civil."

"There was a very candid discussion, and I think both leaders are looking for a way forward, because everybody understands that Syria is at stake. And the world is looking, rapidly, for some kind of resolution. Now, there was agreement on some fundamental principles. There's an agreement that Syria should be a unified country, united, that it needs to be secular, that ISIL needs to be taken on and that there needs to be a managed transition [from current President Bashar Assad]," Kerry said. "But there is a difference, obviously, in what that means and what that outcome may or may not be. My sense is that, you know, I have a meeting this morning with our coalition friends, many of them, not all of them, but some of them this morning. And then I'll be meeting with Lavrov again tomorrow. And we are looking for a way to try to get to a point where we can manage a transition and have agreement on the outcome and you could resolve it."