“No one in the world should misinterpret this president’s preparedness or any willingness of the Congress of the United States to protect the security interests of the United States,” the former Massachusetts senator said in an interview that aired Sunday evening on CBS.
Kerry primarily addressed the twin topics of Syria and Iran. He said he and President Barack Obama are on the same page when it comes to Syria policy.
“There was not an ounce of tension in this,” Kerry said in regards to Obama’s decision to seek congressional approval for a possible airstrike. “I thought the president made a courageous decision, not necessarily the easiest way to get to the goal that he was achieving, but a courageous decision, and one in keeping with the Constitution of the United States.”
The veteran of the Vietnam War characterized Obama’s decision in reaction to the apparent use of chemical weapons in Syria as a response to the war in Iraq.
“We’re living through an enormous Iraq hangover. The American people felt betrayed by what happened in Iraq. The evidence wasn’t there. Weapons of mass destruction weren’t there. So, we approached this learning that lesson,” he said.
Kerry also said that even though the president talked to Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, by phone last week, Iran still has a long way to go before the administration treats its longtime nemesis as a legitimate international partner.
“Iran needs to take rapid steps, clear and convincing steps, to live up to the international community’s requirements regarding nuclear programs, peaceful nuclear programs,” he said. Politico
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Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/30/326858/kerry-us-military-security-iran-syria/
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