Putin to ‘Nobel Peace Prize winner’ Obama: You Have No Evidence on Assad

In response to Obama’s warmongering over Syria, Russia’s Vladimir Putin directly called him out in a recent press conference:

Not only did Putin call in to question the U.S. assertion that it has proof Assad’s regime used chemical weapons on its people, but Putin straight up said the U.S. doesn’t have any proof at all:

“Our American colleagues and friends insist they have the evidence that the government troops did use the weapons of mass destruction, in this case chemical weapons. Well, in this case they’d better present the evidence to the U.N. inspectors and to the security council. They claim they cannot show this evidence because it’s secret, but this excuse doesn’t hold water… If you have the evidence you should present it. If it’s not presented, it means they don’t have it.” [emphasis added]

Putin’s claim echoes that of many others the world over, including many Americans, who have called the seemingly overzealous Obama administration into question amid conflicting reports that it was the U.S.-backed Syrian rebels, and not Assad, who set off chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb on August 21st.

Even three-time presidential adviser Pat Buchanan has said, “this thing reeks of a false flag operation.”

Obama’s announcement earlier today that he will seek military action in Syria but he is waiting on congressional approval only raised more questions. House Speaker Boehner says congress will meet on September 9th to discuss Obama’s Syria plans. If striking Syria was so crucial, it would seem an emergency session would be called immediately to discuss a strike right away.

Indeed, if bombing the Syrian government truly was based on the concern that Assad’s regime has used and could continue to use chemical weapons on his people, waiting nine days to discuss it makes almost no sense, as the regime could reportedly use more chemical weapons again in the meantime.

Assertions that the potential strike on Syria is ultimately about taking aim at Russia may not be unfounded.

The overwhelming irony of Obama — a president who has been at war his entire presidency and who did not bring the troops home as he promised on his campaign trail — winning a peace prize and yet calling for even more military intervention that could lead to war was not lost on Putin during his press conference. He said:

“First of all, I would address Obama not as my colleague, not as the U.S. president, not as the head of state, but as a Nobel Peace Prize winner.”

Of a recent campaign to revoke Obama’s prize, writer Norman Solomon wrote in the Huffington Post, “The Nobel Peace Prize that President Obama received 40 months ago has emerged as the most appalling Orwellian award of this century. No, war is not peace.”

Indeed, the troops have not come home. Obama has expanded the use of overseas drone strikes tremendously since he has been president, outdoing his predecessor George W. Bush by five-to-one with more than 300 strikes in Pakistan under his belt alone.

Earlier this month, Obama took his comments a lot farther than Putin when the U.S. President appeared on Jay Leno’s show and directly compared Putin to Hitler.

While Putin seemed congenial during the press conference, the subject matter at hand is quite serious. Both Russian and Chinese representatives walked out of U.N. Security Council talks on the matter, and warnings from the two countries against a possible U.S. bombing of Syrian targets have escalated. Iran has threatened not only Israel in the event of a Syrian strike, but targets in the West as well. Israel has deployed its Iron Dome missile defense system in Tel Aviv and gas masks have been passed out to its citizenry. The whole world seems to be watching the situation with bated breath.