SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT ASSAD. MATT?
SAVANNAH? >> BILL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>> LET'S BRING OUR NBC NEWS ANALYST.
JACK JACOBS, JEREMY BASH, THE FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF AT THE
PENTAGON AND CIA, AND JAMES STEFRITAS.
JEREMY, LET ME START WITH YOU. WHAT I'VE BEEN READING OVERNIGHT
FROM THE MILITARY EXPERTS THAT THIS WAS LIMITED.
IT WAS ON THE LOWER END OF WHAT WAS AVAILABLE TO THE
ADMINISTRATION. WAS IT THE RIGHT STRIKE AT THE
RIGHT TIME? >> WELL, IT WAS SMART, MATT.
IT WAS WELL-EXECUTED. IT WAS A MORAL STATEMENT.
AND MY VIEW IS THAT THIS MISSILE SALVO MUST BE FOLLOWED UP WITH A
DIPLOMATIC SALVO. AS PRESIDENT OBAMA LEARNED AND
PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL SEE, THERE'S NO MILITARY SOLUTION TO
THIS 6-YEAR-OLD CIVIL WAR. WE HAVE A LOT OF EQUITIES THERE
IN SYRIA. WE WANT TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT
AGAINST ISIS. WE WANT TO KEEP OUR POWDER DRY,
TO SOME EXTENT. BUT WE NEED ASSAD OUT OF THERE.
ONLY DIPLOMACY CAN DO THAT. >> WHAT IS THE LUKELY RESPONSE?
THE RESPONSE FROM RUSSIA IS MUTED.
WHAT IS ASSAD LIKELY TO DO? >> HE WON'T DO ANYTHING.
HE WILL TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND HOPE WE DON'T STRIKE AGAIN.
JEREMY'S RIGHT. THERE'S A DIPLOMATIC SALVO TO
COME HERE. IT HAS TO BE FOCUSED ON RUSSIA.
ASSAD IS NOT A DECISIONMAKER HERE.
THE DECISIONMAKER IS VLADIMIR PUTIN.
I THINK THE STRIKE WAS PROPORTIONAL, LEGAL AND VERY
WELL-EXECUTED. GOOD DAY FOR THE NAVY TO PUT 60
OF THESE THINGS ON TARGET. >> ADMIRAL, LET'S STICK WITH
YOU. TALK ABOUT THE WEAPON THAT WAS
USED, THE TOMAHAWK CRUISE MISSILE.
THEY HIT THE HARDEN HANGARS WHERE AIRCRAFT WAS KEPT, MAYBE
SOME FUEL SUPPLIES. SOME MAY BE WONDERING WHY THE
RUNWAY ITSELF WASN'T TAKEN OUT. EXPLAIN IT.
>> IT'S HARD TO TAKE OUT A RUNWAY BECAUSE THEY CAN BE
QUICKLY REPAIRED. WE HAVE SOME BOMBS THAT THE AIR
FORCE HAS THAT'S PARTICULARLY GOOD AT THIS.
A TOMAHAWK IS A TERRIFIC WEAPON. IT'S SO ACCURATE, WE CAN CHOOSE
TO PUT IT THROUGH THE 49th STREET DOOR OR THE 50th STREET
DOOR AT 30 ROCK. IT IS A CAPABLE WEAPON.
I'VE LAUNCHED HUNDREDS OF THESE. AND THE HIT RATE IS VERY, VERY
HIGH. >> THE NEXT QUESTION IS NOW
WHAT? YOU HEAR THAT RUSSIA HAS
TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED THE DECONFLICTION AGREEMENT.
HAS SYRIA BECOME A MORE DANGEROUS PLACE THIS MORNING?
>> THERE'S A LIMITED OBJECTIVE. THE PRESIDENT WAS ALSO PLAYING
TO A DOMESTIC AUDIENCE. AND WHEN RUSSIA SAYS, WE'RE
GOING TO STOP ALL OF THE DECONFLICTION STUFF, THEY'RE
PLAYING TO A DOMESTIC AUDIENCE, AS WELL.
WE WANTED TO STOP ASSAD FROM USING CHEMICAL WEAPONS.
>> THE RED LINE HAS BEEN ABOUT CHEMICAL WEAPONS.
BUT ASSAD HAS SHOWN OVER THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS, THAT
HE'S WILLING TO KILL HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HIS OWN CIVILIANS
USING CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS, AS WELL.
DO WE SEND A MESSAGE WITH THIS STRIKE THAT WE'RE RECONSIDERING
THAT LINE, AS WELL? >> I DON'T THINK SO.
I THINK THAT THE BIFURCATION IS CHEMICAL WEAPONS OR NO CHEMICAL
WEAPONS. 500,000 SYRIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED
SO FAR, PROBABLY MORE IN THIS WAR, WITH CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS.
THAT IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO STOP.
AND WE'RE NOT MAKING A PUBLIC COMMITTED