Calling for Limited Military Action in Syria
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/09/07/weekly-address-calling-limited-military-action-syria?utm_source=snapshot&utm_medium=email&utm_content=090713-topper
WASHINGTON,
DC — In his weekly address,
President Obama makes the case for limited and targeted military action to hold
the Assad regime accountable for its violation of international norms
prohibiting the use of chemical weapons.
The President realizes the American people are weary after a decade of
war, which is why U.S.
action would not include U.S.
boots on the ground. Instead, the
President has put forward a proposed authorization that is focused on his
clearly stated objectives – preventing and deterring the use and proliferation
of chemical weapons (CW) within, to, or from Syria, degrading the Assad regime’s
capacity to carry out future CW attacks, and deterring this behavior in others
who would otherwise feel emboldened to use such weapons. The President acknowledged it is not a
decision he made lightly, but failing to respond to such actions poses a
serious threat to our national security.
The audio of the
address and video of the address will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, September 7, 2013.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
September 7, 2013
Almost three weeks ago in Syria, more than 1,000 innocent
people – including hundreds of children – were murdered in the worst chemical
weapons attack of the 21st century. And
the United States
has presented a powerful case to the world that the Syrian government was
responsible for this horrific attack on its own people.
This was not only a direct attack on human dignity; it is a
serious threat to our national security.
There’s a reason governments representing 98 percent of the world’s
people have agreed to ban the use of chemical weapons. Not only because they cause death and
destruction in the most indiscriminate and inhumane way possible – but because
they can also fall into the hands of terrorist groups who wish to do us harm.
That’s why, last weekend, I announced that, as Commander in
Chief, I decided that the United
States should take military action against
the Syrian regime. This is not a
decision I made lightly. Deciding to use
military force is the most solemn decision we can make as a nation.
As the leader of the world’s oldest Constitutional
democracy, I also know that our country will be stronger if we act together,
and our actions will be more effective.
That’s why I asked Members of Congress to debate this issue and vote on
authorizing the use of force.
What we’re talking about is not an open-ended
intervention. This would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan. There would be no American boots on the
ground. Any action we take would be
limited, both in time and scope – designed to deter the Syrian government from
gassing its own people again and degrade its ability to do so.
I know that the American people are weary after a decade of
war, even as the war in Iraq
has ended, and the war in Afghanistan
is winding down. That’s why we’re not
putting our troops in the middle of somebody else’s war.
But we are the United States of America. We cannot turn a blind eye to images like the
ones we’ve seen out of Syria. Failing to respond to this outrageous attack
would increase the risk that chemical weapons could be used again; that they
would fall into the hands of terrorists who might use them against us, and it
would send a horrible signal to other nations that there would be no
consequences for their use of these weapons.
All of which would pose a serious threat to our national security.
That’s why we can’t ignore chemical weapons attacks like
this one – even if they happen halfway around the world. And that’s why I call on Members of Congress,
from both parties, to come together and stand up for the kind of world we want
to live in; the kind of world we want to leave our children and future
generations.
Thank you.