President Barack Obama announced in an address Tuesday night that he has asked Congress to postpone voting on military action in Syria as the United States pursues diplomatic action.

Though holding off on a congressional vote, Obama first justified his call for intervention in Syria — seemingly leaving the option open. He listed evidence of the Bashar al-Assad regime carrying out an chemical attack on the Syrian people, as well as possible consequences of U.S. inaction, which included an Assad regime emboldened in chemical warfare and further regional instability. Obama also addressed concerns about the strike, conceding that Americans are weary of war and stating he wouldn’t deploy ground troops or an air campaign.

In the past few days, Obama said, talks with Russia and Syria have given “some encouraging signs.”

Obama said the threat of a military strike was one of the factors that changed the diplomatic situation. Russia’s agreement to push Syria to give up its chemical weapons was a sign of progress, he said. The Syrian government, Obama said, has since admitted having these weapons.

Syria has also said it will join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans chemical arms, he said.

Current diplomatic options include a resolution to the United Nations Security Council — to be worked on with France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China — to make the Assad regime surrender its chemical weapons, Obama said. The United States is also asking U.N. inspectors to report what they’ve found at the site of an attack on the suburbs surrounding the capital city of Damascus.

During his address, Obama reviewed key points about the Aug. 21 chemical attack, noting that the administration holds the Assad regime responsible.

“When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened,” he said. “The facts cannot be denied.”

The chemical attacks, Obama said, were not only a violation of international law, but a threat to U.S. security.

If the United States doesn’t act in any way, the Assad regime could continue to use chemical arms, weakening bans on such weapons and encouraging other governments to do the same, Obama said. Iran, an ally of Assad, could take cues from United States’ inaction and proceed with its nuclear program. The fighting could spill over, Obama said, into neighboring Turkey, Jordan and Israel — countries allied with the United States.

But, he said, after involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, his proposal wouldn’t be popular. The targeted strike would have a clear objective and wouldn’t involve deploying American troops or an air campaign like the ones in Libya and Kosovo, Obama said.

Obama defended the idea of a targeted strike — which he said members of Congress have called a “pinprick” strike — as giving Assad pause before using chemical weapons.

He dismissed concerns of retaliation, claiming that the Assad regime is not a serious threat to the U.S. military, nor is it interested in escalating the situation. Any other possible forms of retaliation from the regime, he said, are similar to threats the United States faces on a regular basis.

“America is not the world’s policeman,” he said. “Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong.”

But, he said, stopping the use of chemical weapons can keep the American people safe, and is in itself a reason to act.

“That’s what makes America different,” said Obama. “That’s what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth.”

Published on September 11, 2013 at 2:51 am

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