Sunday shows: 5 clips you missed

Congress must decide whether the U.S. will strike Syria

Published September 8, 2013 6:22PM (EDT)

Congress will soon make a decision on whether to pursue military intervention in Syria. The Sunday morning talk shows debated the various options and outcomes:

PBS's Charlie Rose nabbed an interview with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad this morning, first announced on CBS's "Face the Nation." Rose, talking via telephone from Beirut, Lebanon, said that Assad denied responsibility for the chemical attack. The interview will air on "The Charlie Rose Show" on PBS Monday night:White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, who made the rounds on the morning shows to present a case for intervention, responded to Rose's comments, saying that "The question then for Congress…is should there be consequences for someone who has used these terrible weapons to gas and to kill more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of children, and what should those consequences be?"

On CNN's "State of the Union," a panel explained that Congress is hesitant to vote for military intervention, however:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) argued on "This Week" that military intervention doesn't make sense. "This attack is not based on national security," said Cruz, who urged politicians to consider applying diplomatic pressure to Syria, instead. He also said that the opposition forces have ties to Al Queda, which could take over if Assad is ousted:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on "Fox News Sunday" said that he hopes Congress's vote on Syria will be binding. "This is not constitutional theater," he said:

And, in a story that Secretary of State John Kerry has said is distracting Congress from Syria, U.S. diplomat and Benghazi whistleblower Gregory Hicks gave an exclusive interview to ABC's "This Week," providing his account of the Benghazi attack:


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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