Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said "there is no operation perfect, and I can’t guarantee anything" Tuesday before the House Armed Services Committee’s hearing on the authorization to use force in Syria:
CHUCK HAGEL: Congressman, first on your comments concerning your constituents as well as General Dempsey and mine, the marines. Please don't let them send me to Syria, I believe, was the paraphrase. First, I just want to remind everybody, that's not the objective. That’s not what is in the resolution of authorization. That is not why the president came to congress. It is not about sending marines to Syria. Regarding your questions. As I said in my statement, congressman, there are always consequences to action. I also said there are risks and consequences to no action. I believe as firmly as I’m sitting here this morning, and I think I have some justifications for believing this. If no response from the international community occurs to what Assad has most recently done on August 21st, and other actions he's taken prior to that, he will do it again.
We will be back here revisiting this issue at some point. The next time it may well be about direct American casualties and the potential security of this country. We have planned for in every possible way, months of planning on the contingencies you talked about. What-ifs, where are assets deployed, are we prepared? What are we anticipating? From the State Department security offices we spend days with Secretary Kerry’s people anticipating hits on our embassy, our consulate, our American interests around the world. There is no operation perfect. I can't guarantee anything, but I would leave it at that.