Listen as Larry spoke with President Trump’s Deputy Assistant, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, about Trump’s plan in Syria following the missile attack on Syria’s air base.
During the interview, Dr. Gorka addressed Sen. Dick Black’s disapproval of President Trump’s missile strike on a Syria air base:
O’Connor: Well you just heard me speak of Sen. Dick Black of Virginia. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with this statement, here’s a little bit of what he had to say:
Sen. Dick Black: I think they were rash. I think they were ill-informed. And I think they are very deeply regrettable. If President Assad felt desperate, which he didn’t, I mean he’s winning on every front, but if he felt desperate that he just had to drop bombs, he’s facing armored divisions. He’s facing dug in forces…
O’Connor: What is your response to that? Sen. Black isn’t the only one. Many people are saying this doesn’t make any sense. I don’t think Assad did this chemical attack. It doesn’t make any sense at all since he’s actually been on the winning side of this war. Why would he do it? So what’s the administration’s response to that?
Dr. Gorka: I’m surprised that the gentleman in question has so much knowledge on the ground of what is exactly going on. If the Damascus regime was so incredibly powerful, they would have won this war four years ago, it wouldn’t still be happening today. So no, just look at a map, Google it now to see the displacement of various groups in Syria today. [inaudible] The masses control small portions of the country, they are not continuously linked. ISIS is on the ground, other militias are on the ground, anti-establishment forces are also active. So no, it’s just not a reflection of the strategic truth.
When asked if there were any doubts of Assad’s involvement with the chemical attack, Dr. Gorka responded saying:
Dr: Gorka: None, none. Sec. Tillerson, H. R. McMaster, the National Security Advisers, the President himself has been explicit. Again, don’t take our word for it go online. You can now see the declassified open source [inaudible] for the fixed-wing Syrian aircraft that loitered for more than 6 minutes above the site where the attack occurred. ISIS, the militia forces, the Free Syrian army, none of those groups have fixed-wing air crafts. The only people in the area that could have done that are government forces. There is absolutely no question who executed that chemical attack.
Dr. Gorka also addressed what side America resides on in relation to Syria’s civil war:
O’Connor: And at this point, I’ve got to ask you Dr. Gorka, whose side are we on, we the American government? Whose side are we on in this civil war?
Dr. Gorka: Great question, Larry. We are on the side of decency and on the side of stopping the conflict. Like much of the region, very few things are binary, very few things are simple. The fact is we did what we did to send a very clear message not just to Assad but to other nations in the world that we will not permit the use of chemical weapons, especially against innocent women and children. We are on the side of stopping the bloodshed, stopping the conflict. And eventually, we are not going to give our playbook away and we are not going to predict what it looks like, but we are eventually going to bring some political resolution to this conflict because – and this is really important for the people who voted for the President and even those who didn’t – the President has not changed. Donald J. Trump was the same January 19th as he is today. He has no interest, and his administration has no interest, in invading countries in the Middle East and occupying them. That is out of the question.
Lastly, O’Connor asked about the current relationship with between the United States and Russia:
O’Connor: Is Russia on our side right now as we try to resolve these issues?
Dr. Gorka: Using the word ‘side’ can be mis-representative of the truth. You don’t need to be on our side. There simply has to be at a point in which the shared interest overlap adequately. And I think the question that we are all waiting to see, even in this administration, all waiting to see is Moscow close to the point at which it realizes this client state simply isn’t worth supporting anymore. Because of the actions it’s taken and the detrimental effect it has on Moscow’s own reputation. So, you don’t have to be in one big happy club with us, but they are going to have to make the decision, is supporting Assad worth it? And I hope that after last week, they are starting to think again about the rectitude of supporting such a heinous regime.
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