Bill O’Reilly opened up his Fox News show Tuesday night by coming out in support of President Barack Obama’s military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons in his country’s civil war.
O’Reilly insisted that the United States throughout history has pursued “noble” causes for the world and that it should not be any different now. Otherwise, he said, the United States would look weak.
“[S]ince World War II the U.S. has literally freed hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We have righted many wrongs at great expense in our blood and treasure. That, of course, is noble. But now many Americans do not want to make that sacrifice any longer,” O’Reilly said.
“Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, those theaters of war have hurt this country,” he went on. “Thousands of brave men and women were killed or maimed. Our treasury depleted. Thus, some Americans have had enough. They are now willing to let evil go unchallenged because there is a never-ending supply of it. But I say that we Americans still have a responsibility to stop mass murder when we can as long as we don’t damage our infrastructure in the process. Removing Saddam Hussein was noble but the cost was too high. Giving the Afghan people a chance at freedom is noble but the folks there may not care enough to embrace it.”
“So what about Syria?” O’Reilly continued. “No question the Syrian dictator, Assad, kills women and children at will. No question, Iran is helping him do it. The evidence is strong that Assad violated the Geneva Convention by using poison gas to kill civilians. Thus, he is a war criminal. If the USA can punish Assad, we should, but we have to be smart about it. We can’t direct his overthrow but we can send a message to every tyrant in the world — slaughter civilians and you’ll pay a steep price. Right now, many evil men and women believe the USA is weak and lacks the courage to right wrongs. Certainly the Russian tyrant [Vladimir] Putin believes that and so do some in the Chinese government.”
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O’Reilly went on to address Obama’s conservative detractors. The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” said opposition on that side of the ideological spectrum came out of trust issues, suggesting that opposition wasn’t necessarily rooted in the best of intentions.
“Back home we now have many conservative people willing to give Assad a pass because they don’t trust President Obama,” O’Reilly said. “Ironically, it was about 10 years ago that many liberal people did not want to move against Saddam[Hussein] because they didn’t trust President [George W.] Bush — same mindset, different ideology. If the USA fails to act against Assad, the unintended consequence would be a loss of respect from those who care about a just world. If we sit back and do nothing, we will set up a free-fire zone where no weapons are off limits. Biological would be next. Mark my words.”
“President Obama is correct in asking Congress to affirm his decision to punish Assad,” he continued. “The world needs to see exactly how our system works. Debate on the issue is good but in the end — in the end, America needs to do what is right. We should use our power to protect the innocent if we can. Great Britain may not have the will to do that anymore but we Americans should set a better example for the world. If we don’t — if we don’t, we will slowly lose the nobility that was gained by past sacrifice. Unfortunately, in this world, justice can be imposed by one people only — us. To whom much is given, much is expected.”