Defense News features the Atlantic Council event “Reflections of a Former Secretary of Defense,” quoting Atlantic Council Distinguished Statesman and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on US Syria policy:
The US has backed itself into a corner by insisting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be removed from power before the Obama administration will work with Russia and Iran to fight the Islamic State group, former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said.
“We have allowed ourselves to get caught and paralyzed on our Syrian policy by the statement that ‘Assad must go,’” Hagel said at a Wednesday event hosted by the Atlantic Council.