U.S. President Barack Obama (L) walks with Denis McDonough, the White House Chief of Staff, through the colonnade of the White House in Washington February 12, 2013.
Business Insider: This was the moment Obama decided not to intervene in Syria
US President Barack Obama decided to delay launching airstrikes against the Syrian government in 2013 during a walk in the White House garden with his chief of staff, Denis McDonough, according to an in-depth profile of McDonough from Politico Magazine's Glenn Thrush.
After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces killed more than 1,300 Syrians in a 2013 chemical-weapons attack which crossed Obama's self-imposed "red line," Obama considered launching an air campaign in an attempt to depose Assad.
That campaign was delayed when Obama decided to put it to a vote in Congress. It was thrown out altogether when Russia — Assad's ally — offered to dispose of Assad's chemical-weapons arsenal if the US refrained from launching airstrikes.
WNU Editor: This is a small insight into how President Obama makes the decisions that he does. I expect more details when he is out of office, and those who worked with him no longer feel bound to keep such details private.
1 comment:
General Dempsey wouldn't do it.
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