60 Minutes Pushes President Obama: Syrian Efforts Are “An Embarrassment”
Veteran newsman Steve Kroft sat down for his second interview with President Barack Obama which aired on 60 Minutes Sunday night. As foreign policy mishaps continue to mount on the Obama administration, Kroft wasted no time in firmly asserting criticisms in regards to the Syrian crisis and burgeoning Islamic State presence.
The conversation began over Syria, to which the President noted has “…been a difficult problem for the entire world’s community”. He stressed that the military efforts to aid the Syrian people would happen, “over time… I didn’t say it was going to be done in a year.”
As the number of Syrian refugees fleeing into Europe increases, the problem only seems to have gotten worse, and Kroft did not let up from pressuring the President into this fact. President Obama spoke of how Syrian President Bashar al-Assad believes that “clinging to power is more important than the fate of his country”; the President also identified the areas where they have fallen short, adding that the administration has not been able to “change the dynamic inside Syria”. President Obama added, “we’ve never been under any illusion that militarily we ourselves can solve the problem inside of Syria.”
The interview from the White House’s Roosevelt Room was contentious at times, and Kroft grew visibly frustrated at some of the President’s responses; at one point Kroft remarked, “I feel like I’m being filibustered, Mr. President.”
Kroft most dug in his heels regarding the failed program to train a fighting Syrian force; he told the President, “Somebody, someplace along the line made a serious miscalculation. It’s an embarrassment.”
Turning to domestic politics, when asked about GOP frontrunner Donald Trump the President noted, “He knows how to get attention… he’s the classic reality TV character.” He identified anti-immigrant sentiment that exists but fell short of giving Trump the Presidential nod. Although the President noted that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had made an admitted-mistake regarding her email server, it’s emphasis in the media proves that “we’re in Presidential political season”.
Watch the video above from CBS.
[image via screengrab]
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