On Monday, NBC’s Today show had the audacity to bring on former Obama administration official Jeremy Bash to scold President Trump for not taking more action against the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. No mention was made of Bash’s former boss, President Obama, refusing to take action in the conflict even after Assad crossed the “red line” of using chemical weapons against his own people.
Instead, co-host Savannah Guthrie teed up Bash to blame Trump for allowing Assad to remain in power. Introducing him as an “NBC News National Security Analyst,” the anchor avoided explaining that Bash was also the chief of staff to Leon Panetta at the CIA and the Defense Department during the Obama administration. She began the segment by wondering: “Do you expect the U.S. to act militarily? Is there any choice?”
Bash replied: “I do expect, Savannah, that the United States will order military strikes against targets in Syria.” He then suggested that Trump’s earlier military response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons was too weak: “The question, Savannah, is will the President go after more than a lone airstrip, which is what he did last year. Will he attack regime targets, command and control, military intelligence headquarters of Assad regime.”
Guthrie fretted: “Does the U.S. have to go further if it really wants to deter this kind of action?”
After noting that he thought “the President will want to ratchet it up,” Bash accused the Trump administration of somehow creating the situation:
And the question is will that be married with a political, a diplomatic effort to really push Assad aside. Because up til now, Savannah, the United States under President Trump has allowed Russia, Iran to dominate Syria and has kept Assad right in power, and we see the results of that decision.
Amazingly, there was no push-back from Guthrie or any effort to point that the Obama administration’s infamously poor handling of Syria. In fact, Guthrie actually urged to Bash to hurl more hypocritical attacks: “And at the same time, you have Republican senators like McCain and Graham saying, ‘You know, it was Trump who said last week that we might immediately withdraw from Syria and that’s exactly what emboldened Assad.’”
Bash seized the chance to hammer the President one more time: “I think Senators McCain and Graham have it exactly right. The President’s embrace of Putin has backfired and here we are today.”
Guthrie’s silence on the Obama administration’s abysmal Syria record was not that surprising, since her network ignored and then downplayed the authoritarian regime crossing President Obama’s “red line” by using chemical weapons in the nation’s civil war in 2013. Following massive devastation in the Syrian city of Aleppo in late 2016, the Today show actually excused Obama’s inaction, claiming the U.S. was “powerless to stop it.”
The Obama administration failed to confront the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria for years and now NBC has the nerve to allow a member of that administration to pass judgment on Trump’s handling of the situation. The liberal media are truly shameless sometimes.
Here is a full transcript of the April 9 segment:
7:05 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let’s bring in NBC News National Security Analyst Jeremy Bash. Jeremy, good morning to you.
JEREMY BASH: Good morning, Savannah.
GUTHRIE: We’re talking about pretty high stakes here. The President warning of a big price to pay, but as we just heard, Russia saying there will be consequences. Do you expect the U.S. to act militarily? Is there any choice?
BASH: I do expect, Savannah, that the United States will order military strikes against targets in Syria. We’re probably in the final countdown to those strikes, maybe days, maybe hours away. The question, Savannah, is will the President go after more than a lone airstrip, which is what he did last year. Will he attack regime targets, command and control, military intelligence headquarters of Assad regime.
GUTHRIE: I was wondering that because we did see something so similar a year ago. And of course, Bashar al-Assad knows now to factor that into it. So if he’s gonna order a chemical strike, he must anticipate the response. Does the U.S. have to go further if it really wants to deter this kind of action?
BASH: Yeah, I suspect the President will want to ratchet it up. And the question is will that be married with a political, a diplomatic effort to really push Assad aside. Because up til now, Savannah, the United States under President Trump has allowed Russia, Iran to dominate Syria and has kept Assad right in power, and we see the results of that decision.
GUTHRIE: Well, and then, two parts of that. Because for the first time, or at least in a very rare instance, we saw President Trump call out Vladimir Putin by name, very tough terms. And at the same time, you have Republican senators like McCain and Graham saying, “You know, it was Trump who said last week that we might immediately withdraw from Syria and that’s exactly what emboldened Assad.”
BASH: I think Senators McCain and Graham have it exactly right. The President’s embrace of Putin has backfired and here we are today.
GUTHRIE: Jeremy Bash, thank you very much. We’ll be watching, appreciate it.
BASH: Thanks.
