Former CIA official says Obama has 'lost control of the Middle East'

Following the attack in Nice, a former top-ranking CIA officer said that President Obama has &quot;failed to live up to his responsibilities to defend.&quot;

(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

published 15 July 2016

In the wake of Thursday's attack in Nice, France, former top-ranking CIA official Gary Berntsen slammed President Obama for failing to adequately respond to the threat of the Islamic State. Though French President François Hollande has called the incident — which killed 84 people who were gathered for Bastille Day fireworks — a terrorist attack, no radical group has claimed responsibility yet.

However, during a Friday morning interview on Fox & Friends, Berntsen declared that Obama has utterly "failed" in one of his most important duties. "The president of the United States, as Newt Gingrich had stated, has failed in his responsibilities to defend the United States. He's lost control of the Middle East. It's in flames. And that's what he will leave when he leaves office," said Berntsen, who has endorsed Donald Trump.

Berntsen also faulted Europe for the situation in the Middle East, specifically attacking Hillary Clinton's remark Thursday night that there's a lack of "intelligence cooperation" between the U.S. and Europe. "It's not a failure of cooperation, Mrs. Clinton," Berntsen said. "It's a failure of our European partners to step up to the plate and commit the resources they need, as they're failing to do on NATO, as well."