WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is accusing White House hopefuls of concocting “half-baked” ideas for solving the crisis in Syria, appearing to even dismiss his former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s call for a no-fly zone before later clarifying his view of the Democratic front-runner.
The idea of a no-fly zone — a region of Syria that the United States would protect from bombing to create a safe corridor for refugees — has emerged as a favorite option for Democratic and Republican candidates. It’s a plan that allows them to stake out a more aggressive military posture than Obama, while stopping short of the kind of large-scale combat troop deployments the U.S. engaged in for years in Iraq and Afghanistan — and of which voters have wearied.
Obama, who opposes such a move, said Friday that he would like critics of his Syria policies to be asked, “Specifically, precisely, what exactly would you do?” He told a White House news conference, “Typically, what you get is a bunch of mumbo jumbo.”
Pressed about whether his comments were directed at Clinton, Obama said he didn’t think her approach to international issues was “half-baked.” But he pointedly added, “There’s a difference between running for president and being president.”
Clinton’s chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said Saturday he opposes a unilateral American no-fly zone in Syria, arguing that it could pull the U.S. into the Syrian civil war and “lead to a never-ending U.S. entanglement in that region.”
Other Republican candidates have previously backed a no-fly zone, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina.
