NEW YORK - President Barack Obama has defended himself against comments that he has been passive on the world stage, particularly on Syria, noting his intervention in Libya, where an uprising aided by Nato air support led to the overthrow of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. In a joint television interview with the outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama cited Qaddafi's ouster and the support of Egypt’s elections following the Arab spring as success stories. But the president said Syria is a more complicated issue. “We do nobody a service when we leap before we look, where we take on things without having thought out the consequences of it,” the president said on CBS "60 Minutes" programme, calling Syria a classic example of how the United States should be clear about its objectives whenever taking any action. “We want to make sure not only that it enhances US security, but also it’s doing right by the people of Syria and neighbours like Israel that are going to be profoundly affected by it,” he said.
“And Syria's a classic example of where our involvement, we want to make sure that not only does it enhance US security, but also that it is doing right by the people of Syria and neighbors like Israel that are going to be profoundly affected by it. And so it's true sometimes that we don't just shoot from the hip.”