John Kerry refuses to call Syria chemical weapon use as ‘slam dunk’

Secretary of State John Kerry looked particularly uncomfortable when Meet the Press host David Gregory asked if he thought the case for Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons was a “slam dunk.”

Sec. of State John Kerry
Image/Video Screen Shot

“I just want to underline the news you made this morning,” Gregory began. “This is a sarin gas attack, perpetrated by the Assad regime. This is a slam dunk case that he did it?”

“The words ‘slam dunk’ should be retired from American national security issues,” Kerry said.

“Slam dunk” is a reference to then-CIA Director George Tenet’s description, in a 2002 meeting with George W Bush, of the veracity of reports that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which it turned out he did not.

“We are saying that the high confidence that the intelligence community has expressed, and the case that I laid out the other day, is growing stronger by the day,” Kerry affirmed.

Kerry has made bold statements on the chemical weapon use by the Assad regime, saying it was ‘undeniable.’ More on that coverage, other quotes here