Ret. Gen. Michael Hayden on Thursday mocked Secretary of State John Kerry’s threat to Russia the prior day to end bilateral engagement in Syria by quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
"Our lack of leverage on Russian behavior and poor Secretary Kerry is out there. I’m reminded of a line from Monty Python: ‘Go away or I will be forced to taunt you a second time,’" Hayden said.
Hayden, a former director of the CIA and NSA, added there is no pressure or action the United States is willing to take against the Russians to force a change in their military actions in Syria.
The Obama administration announced that it would possibly suspend any coordination with Russia and bilateral engagement after Russian and Syrian forces continued their bombing assault on the city of Aleppo, ending any hopes of saving a recently brokered ceasefire.
ABC News reported that two of the largest hospitals in Aleppo were flattened overnight. Both hospitals are supported by Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS). The bombing assault trapped more than 90 patients and staff members in the basement of a hospital.
Hayden said that Obama does not want to take action in Syria with such little time left in his presidency because he does not want his predecessor to bear the consequences of his actions. The former CIA director added that Obama’s inaction in Syria and the humanitarian crisis there will be a part of the president’s legacy.
"You see the inevitable carrying out of the lack of America putting its thumb on the scale the way the Russian have already put their thumb on the scale," Hayden said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that Russia was outraged by the threatening tone from Washington and that the U.S. is supporting terrorism.