Kaine to Trump: Syria slaughter is now on your watch

Gabby Kaufman
·Reporter
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) listens to testimony by Rex Tillerson at a Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination for secretary of state in January. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) listens to testimony by Rex Tillerson at a Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination for secretary of state in January. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Sen. Tim Kaine, D- Va., rejecting the Trump administration’s attempt to blame former President Obama for the continuing carnage in Syria, said it was time for President Trump to take responsibility for American policy in the Mideast.

After a toxic gas attack reportedly left at least 70 people in Syria dead Tuesday, the White House released a statement faulting Obama’s inaction in the Middle Eastern country after declaring the use of chemical weapons a “red line.” In 2013, a joint resolution that would have authorized Obama to take military action in Syria was introduced, but it never received a vote, as the Syrian government quickly accepted a deal negotiated by the United States and Russia to turn over its stockpile of chemical weapons.

During that period, Trump, as a private citizen, was sending out tweets demanding that the United States not get involved in the Syrian war, repeatedly urging Obama to “stay out of Syria,” “do not attack Syria,” and one emphatic assertion that “Syria is NOT our problem.”

“That statement of President Trump’s is rich,” Kaine said on CNN’s New Day. “He’s president now, he’s commander in chief. When something happens and he tries to blame President Obama — give me a break… He’s got to put on his big boy pants and own up to the job.”

Kaine, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2016, said his criticism of the Trump administration wasn’t driven by politics. “I was as critical of the Obama administration on this as I am critical of the Trump administration,” he said.

He called for a budget including a “robust provision of aid” for Syrian refugees and for prosecuting the Syrian president for his use of chemical weapons.

“Why haven’t we prosecuted Bashar al-Assad for war crimes against his own people?” Kaine asked. “This has been going on for years. We just celebrated the sixth anniversary of this civil war and the atrocities of Bashar al-Assad, but so far, nobody’s been willing to hold him accountable.”

In view of the warm relations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Trump administration, Kaine added: “I worry they are trying to be cozy with Russia — so cozy with Russia that they are unwilling to call out Russia’s henchman, Bashar al-Assad, who is only able to carry out these atrocities because of the support from the Russians and the Iranians.”