Obama aides push back against criticism of inaction on Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Obama administration officials are pushing back against criticism of the former president, saying they proposed similar airstrikes in Syria to the ones President Donald Trump ordered this week, but were stymied by a Republican-controlled Congress reluctant to go along with the Democratic president's plan.

Trump laid part of the blame for the chemical attack on former President Barack Obama, saying the deaths were a "consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution."

In 13, Speaker asks Obama how: 'justification comports with exclusive authority of Cong authorization' tweeted Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser under Obama.

In a statement issued the day of the chemical weapons attack, Trump said, "President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing."

Assad "may think he has the same option he took in September 2013: set the chemicals to the side and return to barrel bombs, gravity bombs, artillery shells, missiles, and mortar rounds against civilians in their homes, hospitals, marketplaces, and schools," Hof said in a post on the Atlantic Council's website.