Panetta Would Want 'International Permission' for Action in Syria, Not Necessarily Congressional 'Permission'

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7:33 AM, Mar 8, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER

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An astonishing exchange between Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Senator Jeff Sessions:

Here's the relevant transcript, though the whole thing is worth watching:

SESSIONS: “Do you think you can act without Congress and initiate a no-fly zone in Syria without congressional approval?”

PANETTA: “Our goal would be to seek international permission… Whether or not we would want to get permission from the Congress—I think those are issues we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here.”

SESSIONS: “Well I am almost breathless about that because what I heard you say is, ‘we’re going to seek international approval and we’ll come and tell the Congress what we might do, and we might seek congressional approval’… Wouldn’t you agree that would be pretty breathtaking to the average American?”