WASHINGTON -- In a much anticipated address to the nation, President Barack Obama cited recent efforts of diplomacy as the key reason the United States would delay military action against Syria and the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The president stressed that the U.S. military would "maintain their current posture to keep the pressure on Assad and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails."
President Obama laid out his case for action against Syria, citing U.S. intelligence evidence that showed Assad used chemical warfare to kill more than 1,000 people on Aug. 21 and saying the horrific events on that day changed the way the world viewed Assad."It is beyond our means to right every wrong, but when with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act," Obama said.
Still, diplomacy may be the only way the president can avoid an embarrassing defeat in both the House and Senate, where more lawmakers oppose a strike on Syria than support it. Congressional leaders have already agreed there will be no vote this week.
"There's no clearly defined mission in Syria, no clearly defined American interest in Syria. In fact the Obama administration has specifically stated that no military solution exists," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. said.
With the U.S. involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan still fresh on their minds, nearly two-thirds of Americans are also opposed to a military strike.Russia is rejecting U.S. and French calls for a binding U.N. resolution with "very severe consequences" if Syria doesn't comply, saying it won't support any military action against the Assad regime.
Secretary of State John Kerry will head to Russia on Thursday to continue negotiations.
No comments:
Post a Comment