While the subject of aggression and the legality of one nation attacking another didn't come up during the discussion on Syria, it was a different story when the interview turned to Russia and the situation in Ukraine.
After some diplomatic comments about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama accused the Russians of "aggression" in Ukraine.
"Russian aggression violated the sovereignty and terroritorial integrity of a smaller weaker country and violates international norms," Obama said, in an apparent reference to Russia's incursion into and takeover of Crimea in the spring, following a coup in Ukraine led by anti-Russian forces.
There is some validity to the claim that Russia broke international law with respect to Crimea. While the people of Crimea voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to rejoin the Russian Federation following the change in government in Kiev, it is also a fact that Russian security forces, not in uniform, had entered Ukraine prior to the vote and basically taken over the area. This was not authorized by the UN, or in any way agreed to by Ukraine. So it was not legal.
But if the Crimean action by the Russians was illegal, then certainly our attack on Syrian terrority was illegal.
It should also be noted that the Russian grab of Crimea was done without bloodshed, which hasn't been the case with American attacks on Syria. Already, U.S. bombing has caused civilian deaths, according to a human rights group. This is true aggression.
The clear hypocrisy of Obama's claim about aggression, however, didn't prompt a question from Kroft. No, he just let Obama's claims slide, without challenging the president over the double standard.
The "60 Minutes" interviewer also failed to question the president on whether the Syria attacks are legal under domestic law.
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