Mike Morrell, a former deputy CIA director and part of a firm featuring close Clinton allies like Philippe Reines, recently sided with Obama on arming rebels in Syria over Hillary Clinton.
In an interview on CBS’ This Morning, Morrell said:
It is difficult for me to see how arming the moderate rebels would have made that much difference in Syria. We would have had to have done it on a very, very large scale that I think would have frightened our partners in the region because it would have put a very, very large footprint, U.S. footprint on the ground in the Middle East.
Hillary’s comments on Syria are widely seen as a transparent attempt to distance herself from an Obama foreign policy that she’s inextricably tied to. Morrell’s response shows that she’s not going to get a free pass to make a nakedly political move.
Morrell’s challenge to Clinton’s position is all the more interesting considering hints that he may join a future Clinton Presidential campaign.