Most of you are fully aware of President Obama’s “leading from behind” no strategy foreign policy, but I thought you might find this timeline of quotes interesting as they lead to President Trump’s decisive action on Thursday.
Aug. 20, 2012
President Obama (abcnews.go.com)
“We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change the calculus. That would change my equation. We’re monitoring that situation very carefully. We have put together a range of contingency plans.” – President Obama
Dec. 3, 2012
“And today, I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command: The world is watching. The use of chemical weapons is and would be unacceptable. And if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences, and you will be held accountable.” – President Obama
Dec. 3, 2012
“I am not going to telegraph any specifics what we do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people, suffice to say we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur.” – Obama’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Sept. 4, 2013
“I didn’t set a red line! The world set a red line.” – President Obama
Former Secretary of State John Kerry (jihadwatch.con)
July 20, 2014
“We struck a deal where we got 100 percent of the chemical weapons out.” – Secretary of State John Kerry
Aug. 18, 2014
“The most lethal declared chemical weapons possessed by the Syrian regime were destroyed by dedicated U.S. citizen and military professionals … several weeks ahead of schedule.” – President Obama
June 17, 2015
“The declared chemical weapons stockpile that Assad previously denied existed has now been acknowledged, rounded up, removed from the country and destroyed precisely because of the work of this administration and our successful efforts to work with the Russians to accomplish that goal.” – Obama’s Press Secretary Josh Earnest
Jan. 16, 2017
Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice (telegraph.co.uk)
“We were able to find a solution that didn’t necessitate the use of force that actually removed the chemical weapons that were known from Syria in a way that use of force would never have accomplished. We were able to get the Syrian government to voluntarily and verifiably give up its chemical weapons stockpile.” – Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice
April 6, 2017
“Innocent people, including women small children, and even beautiful babies were killed. These heinous actions by the Assad regime cannot be tolerated.” – President Trump
April 6, 2017
U.S. UN ambassador Nikki Haley. (indianexzpress.com)
“I will say in the life of the United Nations there are times when we are compelled to do more than just talk. There are times we are compelled to take collective action. This Security Council thinks of itself as defender of peace, security and human rights. We do not deserve that description if we do not rise to action today. When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action. For the sake of the victims, I hope the rest of the council is finally willing to do the same.” – UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
President Trump (fox13news.com)
April 6, 2017
“Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. Tonight, I call on civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types.” –President Trump
April 6, 2017
“Democrats should have been more willing to confront Assad after the previous chemical attacks killed scores of innocent civilians.” – Hillary Clinton
To those who think the Trump administration is letting Russia off the hook, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, commenting on the disposition of Syrian chemical weapons under Russian supervision, said, “Clearly Russia has failed in its responsibility to deliver on that commitment. Either Russia has been complicit or simply incompetent on delivering its end of that agreement.”
And from our UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, “How many more children have to die before Russia cares? The U.S. sees yesterday’s attack as a disgrace at the highest level.”
We knew that President Trump would be tested. He was, and the world now knows he’s no Obama. Stay tuned.
