I've transcribed a couple of the best parts for you.
Beginning at 8:44 in the video below...
Greta: President Putin of Russia is calling him (Obama) a liar today because he said that Secretary Kerry said there's no al Qaeda element in the rebels and he points to one group, one rebel faction, that is associated with al Qaeda and al Zawahiri. Ah...President Obama's going to see Putin in the next 24 hours. What is that going to be like?
Don: Well, I think it'll be awkward. The United States of America is faced with a situation where they talk about the "international community", but there isn't an "international community". It's not a "community". It's a group of countries. And the "mechanism", the United Nations, that is there to address questions like this is subject to a veto by President Putin and by the People's Republic of China. Both of whom have sided with the Assad regime. And, it appears that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons and it appears, therefore, that Putin and the People's Republic of China are siding with the use of chemical weapons.
Now, I can't tell you the facts. I would guess there are islamists in the mix of opposition forces against Assad. How strong they are? I just simply do not know. And, I know I don't know. But, uh...we know what happened in Egypt - the United States came away, persuading a lot of the Egyptian people, that we favored the muslim brotherhood and they then took to the streets and tried to have, and succeeded in having, the muslim brotherhood leadership taken out and brought out of office. But the signal has gone out to the world that the United States is not uncomfortable supporting the muslim brotherhood, which I think is a terrible mistake.
The islamists in the world are fundamentally against the "nation-state" concept. And, the world order is based on the "nation-state" concept. The American people prefer the "nation-state" concept and the idea that some religious group would try to impose their views across nation-states, which is what's taking place, and use terrorism and the killing of innocent men, women and children to achieve that is something that, it seems to me, that we ought to be opposed to, energetically. We didn't demonstrate that opposition in Egypt, a terribly important country, and I don't doubt for a minute that the islamists will try to take and play an out-sized role in Syria if they are successful.
So, in helping the opposition to Assad, people have to be very careful that they don't end up with something worse than the Assad regime which is hard to imagine, but possible.
Greta: So, what's the best strategy in light of the position (that) we're in? We have the president saying that there is a red line. He says he didn't draw it - it's drawn by the international community. You've got a Congress...
Don: He DID draw it...
Greta: I'm telling you what he said.
Don: You're kidding. I didn't see that.
Greta: He's saying it's one that is drawn by the international community, by international standards, by Congress, by the American people...
Don: You know, this president has tried to find a way to blame everybody or anybody for everything and leadership requires that you stand up, take a position, provide clarity and take responsibility. And, I can't imagine him saying that he didn't draw the red line, but he, he DID draw the red line.
Greta: In light of...
Don: We have ears.
Greta: In light of where we are...
Don: I've been out in Montana and I must have missed that...
Greta: Ok...in light of where we stand now...............
Ok...one more part - beginning at 14:18 in the video below:
Greta: What about the British? Are you surprised at the British vote?(Some of the above emphasis was mine.)
Don: No! I think...I think...what is the word from the Bible? The "uncertain trumpet". Is that biblical? Or practical?
Greta: I, I...
Don: I mean that's what we have. We have an "uncertain trumpet". We have mixed signals. We don't have leadership. We don't have a clarion call. We don't have people standing up and saying, "What's important is 'this'." And, "Let's go do 'this'", or "let's not do 'that', let's do something different."
But, to constantly look for someone else to blame, and to meander, and to cause confusion, that isn't something that the United States does.
Greta: Well, I think he thinks...what he's said is he "seeks to punish and degrade their 'capability'".
Don: But only a little bit "because we don't want to get involved with a 'regime change'." I mean...what does it MEAN: "degrade their ability"? (pause) I don't know what it means.
I think that the Congress has a very difficult vote. And, uh, it seems to me that a person could very honorably...I would always begin (by) wanting to support the President of the United States, but, I can understand a vote in the Congress that opposes anything because the president isn't providing the kind of leadership that suggests that we would have an outcome that would be beneficial to our country and to the world.
Watch:
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