Chuck Todd: Obama Didn't Want To Go Public With Syrian Chemical Weapons Evidence

NewsBusters.org ^ | April 28, 2013 | Noel Sheppard

[Kaslin]

NBC's Chuck Todd made some stunning statements Sunday about recent revelations concerning Syria's use of chemical weapons on its people.

Appearing on Meet the Press, Todd first said the Administration regrets President Obama's claim that this would be a "red line" adding "They didn't want to go public last week that they had this early evidence" and only did so because "they knew Congress was going to get this briefing and it was all going to get out" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Chuck Todd: Obama Didn't Want To Go Public With Syrian Chemical Weapons Evidence

CHUCK TODD: I can tell you there is regret about that red line comment because…

DAVID GREGORY, HOST: In the White House?

TODD: In the White House in this respect. You don't draw, I mean, they meant it. They do mean it on the chemical weapons, but saying it creates this political conversation. They didn't want to go public last week that they had this early evidence yet. They weren't ready. And yet they knew Congress was going to get this briefing and it was all going to get out.

So they decided to go public with it last week because they felt they had no choice, that it was all going to start leaking out. You had the Israelis, you had the British intelligence. But they're not ready. There is no good answer. The Gulf States, and the big difference between here and Libya, by the way, is in Libya you had the Arab community, the Arab League on the record saying we gotta stop this. The Arab League has been quiet on this, and I think the United States would like to see that first before we jump in.

So the Administration would have preferred to have kept this information from the American people.

Isn't it interesting how cavalierly Todd made this claim?

Would he be so nonchalant about the White House preferring to withhold such information from the public if there were a Republican in the Oval Office?

[Kaslin]

Hmm, I did not realize that Brian Wilson was not on FOX News anymore.

[Kaslin]

You are welcome

[DJ Frisat]

Regardless of where the chemweps came from, Obama didn’t want to ‘go public’ with the information that they have been used because it illustrates that his blustering about a ‘red line’ meant pretty much the same as everything he says: nothing.

Now he’s been exposed to the country and the world as a bad poker player, and he’s trying to pretend that we don’t have enough evidence that they were used. And trying to figure out what he can do to save face, avoid making difficult leadership decisions and not get himself (and ‘Mommy’) all wee-wee’d up...

What a jackass.

[Spok]

He also doesn’t want to investigate the Boston bombers for fear it will reveal an overseas Islamic connection. And the MSM certainly won’t press for the truth. More will die to protect his lie.

[what's up]

Former CIA Director Porter Goss was on the WMAL Radio Morning Show (630 AM/105.9 FM) This past Friday (26 Apr 2013) morning. He said that the Russians helped the Iraqis move the WMDs to Syria during the 6 months that Bush spent trying to convince (at Tony Blair’s urging) the UN that Iraq had WMDs and an invasion to seize them was needed. Goss said that the convoys were going out at night and crossing into Syria.

WOW!

That really needs a separate thread.

[what's up]

Read post #16.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

They crossed Zero’s bright red line. Now what? Does that mean he’ll have to do something?

It’s too bad, because it was a great sounding phrase.

I have an idea. Just mutter some platitudes and move on to something else.

[TigersEye]

0bungles writes checks his arse can’t cash.

[zeestephen]

Reuters, AFP, NYTimes, and the BBC are the four major news sources in Syria.

They all avidly support the destruction of Assad.

They all avidly support the victory of the Islamic Brotherhood, which is Obama’s chosen favorite also.

Assad is a bad man, but, by and large, he has not been an aggressive threat to Israel and America.

The Brotherhood, in contrast, is vehemently anti-American and anti-Israel.

I have never believed the MSM’s estimated death toll in this war - 70,000, which comes out to more than 100 deaths each day.

And I have never believed the endless rumors about Assad's use of chemical weapons on civilians.

It makes no sense.

Assad has at least half a dozen countries he can flee to and save his life.

If he uses chemical weapons, he will be a pariah, and he will have to bet his life that the Iranian regime will protect him.

[Kaslin]

Of course the 0bama media won’t press him for the truth. He got them right in his pocket

[milagro]

Too bad it wasn't a "line in the sand".

Problem is, Obama's line will probably turn red--with blood!

[freeangel]

Oh, puleeez. Bammy goes “public” with anything that is convenient to provide distractions to his FAILED presidency when he feels like it. Too bad he’s opted to NOT go public with Benghazi and Fast and Furious.

[LS]

In other words, they are really concerned they will have to a) admit Bush was right about WMDs in Iraq and b) do something. But Zero is incapable of doing anything in the best interest of the U.S. I bet giving the order to kill OBL was absolutely gut wrenching for him, because he knew he had to do it or get kicked out in 2012.

[zerosix]

An Iraqi Air force General has testified and even written a book about this subject, that Iraq had WMD and leading up to the invasion by the US and others as the UN finally gave the go-ahead, Iraq sent the WMD to Syria!

What this General and many others found so difficult to understand, is why Geo. W. Bush would rather claim either not to know what happened to the WMD (when they clearly did know, know that it was sent to Syria), at the cost to his Administration, at the cost of leaving others who knew exactly what happened, but claim not to know and allow leftists, the media and many political enemies, claim "Bush lied, people died!"

Did the administration deny knowing what happened because they feared having to take on Syria while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time, did they fear Syria's launching nuclear and/or chemical weapons against Israel, it is anyone's guest but now another administration is refusing to tell the truth about Syria and chemical weapons.

What's the deal?

[plain talk]

Did the administration deny knowing what happened because they feared having to take on Syria while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time, did they fear Syria's launching nuclear and/or chemical weapons against Israel, it is anyone's guest but now another administration is refusing to tell the truth about Syria and chemical weapons.

I think that is likely. also .. don't forget Dubya was embarrassed on the world stage for claiming at the UN that Iraq had WMDs but were never able to conclusively prove it to the world. How would they prove the weapons were in Syria or that they ever really made it to Syria? As you say they weren't going to invade Syria to get them. By then Dubya had had enough of all of it I am afraid ... and likely said we had to let this go and move on. Unfortunately it was an opening the dems relished and used to destroy him politically. conservatives turned against him because he fully exposed his "compassionate" conservative crap. That was definitely the turning point.

[zot]

I remember seeing satellite photos of large truck convoys moving at night from Iraq to Syria just before we invaded Iraq. I was sure they were carrying WMDs that Saddam didn’t want us to find. However, if the WMDs were chemical shells or bombs, the ingredients are probably too degraded to use after all this time.

[GreyFriar]

Mustard gas (phosgene) has a long ‘shelf life’ i.e. decades. If the Sarin is binary, then it too should have a couple of decade life.

[zot]

Thanks. I knew mustard gas has a long shelf life, but I didn’t know about Sarin.

[okie01]

Read post #16.

I did.

Doesn't change the fact that Syria had their own WMD program and was, in fact, producing chemical warfare weapons.

Chemical weapons degrade over time. Therefore, it is likely that any chemical weapons used were of recent Syrian production rather than Iraqi inventory.

[Mike Darancette]

Blame the Jooz.