Clinton walks tightrope on Syria military action
Today, she is a former secretary of state with another possible presidential campaign in her future. As President Barack Obama ramps up efforts to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Syria, the question is whether this episode will become an asset or liability if she becomes a candidate again.
Clinton has not spoken publicly about the chemical weapons attack that Obama administration officials say was launched by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, although a Clinton aide issued a statement Tuesday saying that she backed the president’s effort. “Secretary Clinton supports the president’s effort to enlist the Congress in pursuing a strong and targeted response to the Assad regime’s horrific use of chemical weapons,” the statement said.
Her 2002 Iraq vote seemed relatively safe at the time but was later fraught with political implications. Clinton allies see little comparison with what happened then and the possible fallout for her with the debate about Syria. The 2002 debate, they argue, was ultimately about launching a fully-fledged invasion of Iraq. What Obama is calling for, as he reiterated at the beginning of a meeting with congressional leaders Tuesday, is many steps short of that.
What isn’t clear yet is just how active or assertive Clinton will be in public as Congress debates whether to give Obama the authority he is requesting.
Clinton allies doubt that her support for targeted military action against Syria could boomerang, as her 2002 vote did. Nor do they see any strong opponent on the party’s left flank who could make the case against her, were things to turn sour as they did in Iraq.
Still, as a former member of the administration, Clinton is not exactly a free agent. If she believes the administration should have taken a more aggressive posture earlier, she is likely to be restrained from saying so, lest she appear disloyal. If Clinton runs again, she will be asked for a fuller accounting of her views on Syria and might be pressed to outline where she and the president diverged on what to do.
• THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view
