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?

[darkwing104]

Transparency...

[plain talk]

The obvious question the media should be asking is “where did Syria get the chemical weapons?” I don’t claim to really know but we did see a truck caravan from Iraq to Syria in the final days before the Iraqi invasion. This leads me to think these are the Iraqi WMDs. The other option is they came from Iran. Take your pick.

[Hardraade]

They wanted it used on Israel before saying anything.

Ask Weinberger, who has been there before.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Or you could go with Door #3: Russia.

Same place Saddam got his.

[plain talk]

yep

[driftdiver]

So he’s withholding evidence from Congress. shocking /s

[Vendome]

[redshawk]

FchuckTODD should be tried for treason.

[Gen.Blather]

“The obvious question the media should be asking is “where did Syria get the chemical weapons?” “

They probably did get some from Iraq. But it was reported today that there’s a major battle going on for control of a factory complex that manufactures them. (Incidentally, if I were Assad, I’d blow the thing and retreat. He probably already has enough manufactured to kill everybody in the country several times over. There are reportedly 12 sites where they are stored. You wouldn’t go through the expense of securing and defending a storage depot unless it has significant quantities of material on hand to make it worthwhile.)

[M Kehoe]

Odd how in America, we have to get credible and timely news from the UK media. Our media is nothing more than a department of the DNC. No matter...

In the journalist category, many names does "The List" contain. Those on "The List" will wonder on the day of reckoning, "why me?"

History repeating itself...again.

5.56mm

[Typical_Whitey]

Beware of Obama’s triple dare and Lord help us if he has to use his double double dare .... on Syria.....

Idiot left, policies that allow the enemy to kill us on the streets and school yards of America.

[EQAndyBuzz]

My bet is the intelligence community found out that the WMD came from Iraq and the administration is trying to bury it.

With their credibility why would we think differently?

[GreyFriar]

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.

Unfortunately Larry O’Connor, who co-hosts the show with Brian Wilson (former Fox News), did not post an account of the interview on any of the Breitbart websites he usually posts stories from the morning show interviews.

I’m wondering what is going on with ‘burying the lede’ on this story. Yep it is old, but here is the CIA Director at the time saying it happened.

[okie01]

This leads me to think these are the Iraqi WMDs. The other option is they came from Iran. Take your pick.

Syria had its own chemical weapons program. There is no reason to think that the deployed WMD came from Iraq.

It's possible. But not probable.

[cardinal4]

I have long held that Iraqi weapons went to Syria. I always believed the would re-surface in a situation like this, too..

[Kaslin]

Plus don't forget that Saddam converted the civilian 747 by ripping the seats out to transport planes to deliver the WMDs to Syria in the guise to help Syria in a natural disaster that happened during that time. Also don't forget the giant boulders he laid on the roads so to speak every time the inspectors came in. So they had to make detours when they wanted to go to the next place.

The left bought every lie and excuse by Saddam and his regime hook line and sinker.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Kaslin.