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Dem Rep: Our Middle East Problems Go Beyond Who Controls The White House

Dem Rep: Our Middle East Problems Go Beyond Who Controls The White House
Christine Conetta & Chris Gentilviso
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A Democratic congressman called out conservative critics of President Barack Obama on Wednesday for oversimplifying the difficulty of resolving problems abroad.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) stressed during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that no matter who serves as president, casualties are an unfortunate part of these conflicts.

"We don't have control of what's going on on the ground in Syria, or Iraq or Libya," Sherman said at the hearing, which was focused on "Libya's Descent."

He summed up the criticism as a claim that "somehow, if we only had somebody in the White House with a different personality, then everyone in the Middle East would do what we said and we'd be in control and we'd achieve it all without any troops on the ground."

Sherman asked State Department official Gerald Feierstein if he was aware of any strategy that was capable of "the destruction of all dangerous, evil forces without substantial American casualties."

"You can give me a one-word answer," Sherman quipped.

"No, sir," Feierstein replied with a chuckle.

Sherman's remarks came amid a chorus of GOP criticism during the hearing, headed by Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.). The chairman accused the Obama administration of showing "no desire to lead" on Libya.

"'Destroy all dangerous evils' is a great slogan," Sherman said. "But the real slogan for an effective foreign policy is 'managing a messy world.'"

Watch a clip from the hearing above.

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Before You Go

Attack On U.S. Compound In Benghazi
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A burnt out vehicle sits smoldering in flames after it was set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi, late on September 11, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
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A broken window after an attack on the U.S. Consulate by protesters in Benghazi, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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The U.S. Consulate after an attack by protesters in Benghazi, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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A burnt car is seen after an attack on the U.S. Consulate by protesters in Benghazi, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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Soot and debris spills out of the U.S. Consulate after an attack by protesters in Benghazi, Libya, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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A man looks at documents at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. The graffiti reads, "no God but God," " God is great," and "Muhammad is the Prophet." (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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A man walks on the grounds of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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Glass, debris and overturned furniture are strewn inside a room in the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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A man walks through a room in the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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Libyans walk on the grounds of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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Libyans walk on the grounds of the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri) (credit:AP)
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A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames after it was set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi, late on September 11, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
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An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi, late on September 11, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
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A vehicle burns after it was set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on September 11, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
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A vehicle sits smoldering in flames after being set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on September 11, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
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A vehicle and surrounding buildings smolder after they were set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi, late on September 11, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty)
LIBYA CONSULATE(17 of17)
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Map locates Benghazi, Libya, where the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in an attack (credit:AP)
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