Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Politics:

Adelson says he would help Obama garner support for strike against Syria

Sheldon Adelson

Christopher DeVargas

Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Sheldon Adelson offered to help President Barack Obama drum up support among Republicans for a Syria strike, he told the National Journal in an interview last night.

The casino-magnate billionaire, who spent $100 million in an attempt to depose Obama in 2012, told the Beltway publication that he wished the president had not drawn a “red line” at using chemical weapons in Syria but that he would support Obama because a strike was in the best interests of maintaining America’s credibility on the world stage, and because he is “a patriot.”

The interview took place before a Russian offer to have Syria transfer its weapons to international control was formalized Tuesday morning. That offer has put a hold on efforts to get congressional approval for limited strikes this week.

Adelson said he worried that chemical weapons could get into the wrong hands, including the hands of groups that might be inclined to use them against Israel. Adelson is extremely pro-Israel and owns the country’s largest newspaper.

Both the Republican Jewish Committee, which Adelson chairs, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee came out in favor of limited strikes against Syria in the last week.

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