Listen as Larry spoke with Virginia Senator Richard Black about his disapproval of President Trump’s attack on Syria’s air base.
During the interview, Senator Black responded to Dr. Sebastian Gorka disproving Black’s stance on Bashar al-Assad and the current conditions in Syria.
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.
O’Connor: So, Senator Black he [Dr. Sebastian Gorka] says, ‘No, Assad is not doing that well, this was a desperate act because the war is not going his way’. And also he said, I followed up, ‘There is no doubt in his mind or anyone’s mind in the Trump administration that Assad did in fact pull the trigger on this chemical attack on these civilians’. What’s your response sir?
Black: I heard his comments and the one thing I did not hear him articulate was a motive for why the Syrians would use poison gas, assuming that they still have it. Now he made the comment that was totally incorrect. He said that if you look at the map, he said, that you’ll see they only hold small portions of Syria. If he had traveled as I have to the areas of Syria that he’s talking about, much of Syria is rocky desert. It’s just desolate. The government controls probably 80% of the population and probably 2/3 of the portion that are under the control of the rebels wish that they could get to the government for protection, but they are held there in fear of their lives by the terrorists. So it is not true, the government controls a great deal of it. And if you look at what they did in Aleppo – Aleppo is the greatest victory of the entire 6 year war. They drove out the rebels, and they now control Aleppo. I don’t know how familiar he is with great respect to him …
I’m telling you, I am a combat officer, I’ve probably seen more fierce combat than anybody in Congress, maybe not – maybe there is somebody there, but I have been in desperate combat where you didn’t know whether you were going to live or die. And I’ve also been the top criminal law officer in the Pentagon and when I look at something, I want to see a motive. What’s the motive for the crime? And I also want to see credible witnesses. Now the evidence in this case is pathetic. The witnesses stink, they are all ISIS or Al-Qaeda. In court, I would impeach the witnesses by asking, ‘Isn’t it true that you are associated with Al-Qaeda, which murdered 3,000 Americans on 9/11? Isn’t it true that the ‘White Helmets’ were linked to Al-Qaeda? And the jury would look at them and say, ‘Oh my gosh. They’re bringing these witnesses on?’ So no, while I have great respect for the White House spokesman, and as you know I have been one of the top supporters of President Trump, I represented him all over the state I want him to succeed but I think the decision to attack Syria was rash, ill-conceived. I think he got terrible advice from his staff and I think we need to rethink where we’re going in Syria.
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