Former Secretaries of Defense Bob Gates and Leon Panetta sharply criticized President Obama's handling of Syria Tuesday in a lecture at Southern Methodist University.
However, the former Obama administration cabinet officials disagreed about whether the U.S. should initiate a military strike against the rogue nation in response to their purported use of chemical weapons.
Panetta endorsed a strike while Gates warned of the unintended consequences, likening a U.S. bombing campaign to pouring "gasoline on an extremely complex fire in the Middle East."
Both men were incredulous at the idea the Russian-brokered plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons will be successful and agreed President Obama should not have asked Congress for authorization to strike.