Yesterday, Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion and Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, sat down with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss President Obama’s now infamous “red line” remarks regarding the Syrian civil war.
“You know, Kasparov I think said it best last night with Larry O'Donnell on MSNBC. Kasparov is the world champion chess player from Russia,” Glenn said on radio this morning, “And he said, you know, your guy just got smoked.”
Kasparov argued that President Obama failed when he refused to follow through once chemical weapons were used in Syria and his “red line” was crossed. In his view, Russian President Vladimir Putin came out looking like the real winner this situation because he managed to broker a deal that essentially allows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to be treated as a partner, instead of the war criminal he actually is.
O’Donnell, like the majority of his fellow MSNBC colleagues, doesn’t see it that way.
“Putin got everything he wanted, I think even beyond his wildest expectations,” Kasparov said, “and Obama who once said ‘red line’ he just, in my view, is just blowing up the reputation of his office.”
O'Donnell countered by saying the President won because it seemed to have stopped the use of chemical weapons.
“I agree stopping the use of chemical weapons was the goal,” Kasparov said, “and that's why the president said ‘red line.’ I understand that ‘red line’ means if that if somebody crosses ‘red line,’ you act and you don't talk anymore."
Again, Kasparov wasn’t buying it. “'Red line,’ whether it’s in Russian or English or any other language, it means that you act,” he said. “Barack Obama is the president of America and if he says ‘red line,’ he should, you know, put face value on his words.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Pat said. “These guys are fighting so hard to make it a win for the President. They backed into this because of a stupid gaffe by John Kerry that the Russians said, ‘Oh, okay, we'll make it happen then.’ And they did. And so they were embarrassed into actually taking this deal, supposedly. And now it's a win for them somehow. It's incredible."
Watch the first part of the interview below:
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And here is the portion of the interview that aired online-only:
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