Hillary Clinton: I would have taken on Assad
Former presidential candidate says she pushed US to 'move aggressively' against Syrian regime in 2012

Hillary Clinton says she drew up a plan to "move aggressively" against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad more than four years ago, as she gave her first interview since losing the presidential election to Donald Trump in November.
Speaking at the Women in the World summit in New York City yesterday, before Trump's announcement of air strikes on a Syrian airfield, Clinton said she and then CIA director Leon Panetta had unsuccessfully lobbied for the US to take action against Assad's regime in 2012.
"I thought we should have done more at that point," she told US journalist Nicholas Kristof, in front of an audience of thousands. "I still believe we should've done a no-fly zone.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I think we should've been more willing to confront Assad."
Her plan would have seen the US arm anti-Assad rebels "to provide back-up to what I thought would be a one-sided battle", she said, adding: "This was before [Islamic State]."
During the interview, Clinton also claimed that misogyny had "certainly" played a part in her election defeat last November, CBS reports.
Exit polls revealed that while she won 54 per cent of the female vote, men favoured Trump by a 12-point margin, the Washington Post reports. Non-college educated white men were the most opposed to her becoming president, with only 23 per cent voting for the Democrat.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Clinton said the 65 per cent approval rating she had enjoyed as Barack Obama's secretary of state - "a job I was asked to do by a man" - tanked when she announced her intention to run for president.
"By the time they finished with me, I was Typhoid Mary," she said, attributing her sharp decline in popularity to sexism directed against women who display ambition.
She added she was "deeply concerned" about developing reports regarding potential Kremlin interference in the election.
Losing the election was "devastating", Clinton continued, but she said her mind was now focussed on fighting the Republican agenda.
"As a person, I'm okay," she said. "As an American, I’m pretty worried."
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s plan
Speed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sites
Speed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace plan
Speed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Inside Syria’s al-Hol camp
Under the radar Aid cuts mean authorities face ‘uphill struggle’ to maintain security
-
The dark history of myths about immigrants eating swans and pets
In the Spotlight Nigel Farage has mimicked Donald Trump and peddled tropes and rumours that have long been used to ‘dehumanise’ immigrants
-
What would happen if Israel lost America’s support?
Today’s big question Loss of US backing could be a ‘catastrophe’ for Israel