Secretary of State opens the door to boots on the ground, then tries to close it

Jacquelyn Martin / AP Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 3, 2013.

Secretary of State John Kerry mixed messages Tuesday against a proposed congressional prohibition on the use of American ground forces in Syria, saying the war-torn country could “implode” and that, if so, U.S. troops would be needed to prevent chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terrorist groups.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry first said he didn’t want to “take off the table” an option that might become necessary if Syria further destabilizes. Some lawmakers are proposing amending the Obama-administration authored legislation that would give congressional approval to military action in Syria — a change that Kerry said was ill-advised.

“But in the event Syria imploded, for instance, or in the event there was a threat of a chemical weapons cache falling into the hands of al-Nusra or someone else and it was clearly in the interest of our allies and all of us, the British, the French and others, to prevent those weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of the worst elements, I don’t want to take off the table an option that might or might not be available to a president of the United States to secure our country,” Kerry said.

Kerry’s comments, in response to a question from New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, cast into doubt implications by the White House that President Barack Obama is not considering boots on the ground in Syria, even as he pushes for a more limited response to Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.

“So the key point that I want to emphasize to the American people: The military plan that has been developed by the joint chiefs and that I believe is appropriate is proportional,” Obama said Tuesday morning before a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House. “It is limited. It does not involve boots on the ground. This is not Iraq and this is not Afghanistan.”

Kerry’s comments are likely to upset many war-weary members of Congress who are worried about the United States getting drawn into another conflict in the Middle East.

“I didn’t find that an appropriate response,” said Sen. Bob Corker, the committee’s top Republican, adding that his support for military force hinges on a commitment not to place boots on the ground.

Kerry later stated that under the plans currently drawn up, “the president doesn’t want boots on the ground fighting Syria’s civil war, period.”

Under questioning from Corker, he said he was offering a hypothetical for another situation entirely when he opened up the door to American forces on the ground in Syria. But Kerry’s walk-back was incomplete, only applying to the civil war and not the protection of Syrian chemical stockpiles.

“Let’s shut that door now as tight as we can,” Kerry said. “There will not be American boots on the ground with respect to the civil war.”

UPDATE at 4:20 p.m.: Kerry, attempting to clean up his comments yet again, said the Obama administration has “no problem in having the language that has zero capacity for” boots on the ground.

UPDATE at 5:00 p.m.: State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf sends along this statement: “As Secretary Kerry made clear repeatedly during the hearing and over the last several months, the Administration is not considering and has no plans to consider boots on the ground in Syria. Period.”

The transcript of the exchange: