Obama says U.S.
will take military action against Syria, pending Congress’s approval
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-set-to-speak-on-syria-in-rose-garden/2013/08/31/65aea210-125b-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html
President Obama said Saturday that the United States has
decided to use military force against Syria, calling last week’s alleged
chemical weapons attack there “an attack on human dignity,” but said he would
seek congressional authorization for an attack.
The announcement puts off an imminent cruise missile strike,
a prospect that had put the region on edge and stoked intense debate in the United States,
where many dread getting dragged into a new war. It is not clear what the Obama
administration would do if Congress declines to authorize a military operation.
“We cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in
Damascus,”
Obama said during an address at the Rose Garden. “This has implications beyond
chemical warfare.”
Congress is in recess until Sept. 9, and it was not
immediately clear whether lawmakers would try to convene earlier for an
emergency vote. Leading lawmakers who had called on the administration to seek
congressional approval were pleased by Obama’s announcement.
“At this point in our country’s history, this is absolutely
the right decision, and I look forward to seeing what the administration brings
forward and to a vigorous debate on this important authorization,” said Sen.
Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).
With five U.S. Navy destroyers deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, the Pentagon has been ready to strike for
days and appeared likely to remain on a war footing as the debate at home
continues to unfold.
“We are prepared to strike whenever we choose,” Obama said.
But he added that plans to launch an attack were “not time-sensitive” and that
a strike could come “tomorrow, next week or a month from now.”
Obama’s remarks came as senior administration officials were
making a fresh round of calls to congressional leaders Saturday in an effort to
bolster support for a potential military strike, officials said.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among the administration officials
expected to speak to key members of Congress on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re confident in our analysis that the United States and
our allies can handle any contingencies that come as a result of military
action should it be chosen by the president,” a senior U.S. official said.
Hagel, who returned to Washington
on Friday night after a week-long trip to Asia,
had substantive discussions with Obama, as well as with his French and Israeli
counterparts, while on his way home, according to the official, who would
discuss the administration’s efforts only on the condition of anonymity.
As key allies and members of Congress have raised concerns
about and objections to U.S.
military involvement in Syria’s
messy civil war, the White House appears to be carefully weighing the risks of
launching an attack that would likely be carried out with cruise missiles.
The priority Saturday appeared to be bolstering support for
the operation on Capitol Hill, where key members have expressed strong
reservations and called on the White House to fully consult with Congress
before authorizing a strike.
“We have a financial crisis in our military,” Sen. James M.
Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a
statement Thursday after being briefed by an administration official. “Several
members agreed with me that whatever is decided upon, it’s going to take
military resources that are at decreased readiness levels due to a lack of
funding.”
White House officials have said they are contemplating only
a limited, brief strike and have pushed back on the contention that such a move
could drag the United States
into a new, prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
Statement by the President on Syria
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/31/statement-president-syria
Rose Garden
1:52 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good
afternoon, everybody. Ten days ago, the
world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria in the
worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century. Yesterday the United States presented a powerful
case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own
people.
Our intelligence shows the Assad regime and its forces
preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets in the highly populated
suburbs of Damascus,
and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place. And all of this corroborates what the world
can plainly see -- hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the
dead. All told, well over 1,000 people
were murdered. Several hundred of them
were children -- young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government.
This attack is an assault on human dignity. It also presents a serious danger to our
national security. It risks making a
mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. It endangers our friends and our partners
along Syria’s borders,
including Israel, Jordan, Turkey,
Lebanon and Iraq. It could lead to escalating use of chemical
weapons, or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people
harm.
In a world with many dangers, this menace must be
confronted.
Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States
should take military action against Syrian regime targets. This would not be an open-ended
intervention. We would not put boots on
the ground. Instead, our action would be
designed to be limited in duration and scope.
But I'm confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use
of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to
carry it out.
Our military has positioned assets in the region. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed
me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose. Moreover, the Chairman has indicated to me
that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be
effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now. And I'm prepared to give that order.
But having made my decision as Commander-in-Chief based on
what I am convinced is our national security interests, I'm also mindful that
I'm the President of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. I've long believed that our power is rooted
not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the
people, by the people, and for the people.
And that’s why I've made a second decision: I will seek authorization for the use of
force from the American people's representatives in Congress.
Over the last several days, we've heard from members of
Congress who want their voices to be heard.
I absolutely agree. So this morning, I spoke with all four congressional
leaders, and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as
Congress comes back into session.
In the coming days, my administration stands ready to
provide every member with the information they need to understand what happened
in Syria and why it has such
profound implications for America's
national security. And all of us should
be accountable as we move forward, and that can only be accomplished with a
vote.
I'm confident in the case our government has made without
waiting for U.N. inspectors. I'm
comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security
Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad
accountable. As a consequence, many
people have advised against taking this decision to Congress, and undoubtedly,
they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the
Parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal,
even as the Prime Minister supported taking action.
Yet, while I believe I have the authority to carry out this
military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the
country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even
more effective. We should have this
debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual. And this morning, John Boehner, Harry Reid,
Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell agreed that this is the right thing to do for
our democracy.
A country faces few decisions as grave as using military
force, even when that force is limited.
I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our
country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end. But if we really do want to turn away from
taking appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we
must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing.
Here's my question for every member of Congress and every
member of the global community: What
message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in
plain sight and pay no price? What's the
purpose of the international system that we've built if a prohibition on the
use of chemical weapons that has been agreed to by the governments of 98
percent of the world's people and approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of
the United States is not enforced?
Make no mistake -- this has implications beyond chemical
warfare. If we won't enforce
accountability in the face of this heinous act, what does it say about our
resolve to stand up to others who flout fundamental international rules? To governments who would choose to build
nuclear arms? To terrorist who would
spread biological weapons? To armies who
carry out genocide?
We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not
follow through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that
define us.
So just as I will take this case to Congress, I will also
deliver this message to the world. While
the U.N. investigation has some time to report on its findings, we will insist
that an atrocity committed with chemical weapons is not simply investigated, it
must be confronted.
I don't expect every nation to agree with the decision we
have made. Privately we’ve heard many
expressions of support from our friends.
But I will ask those who care about the writ of the international
community to stand publicly behind our action.
And finally, let me say this to the American people: I know well that we are weary of war. We’ve ended one war in Iraq. We’re ending another in Afghanistan. And the American people have the good sense
to know we cannot resolve the underlying conflict in Syria with our military. In that part of the world, there are ancient
sectarian differences, and the hopes of the Arab Spring have unleashed forces
of change that are going to take many years to resolve. And that's why we’re not contemplating
putting our troops in the middle of someone else’s war.
Instead, we’ll continue to support the Syrian people through
our pressure on the Assad regime, our commitment to the opposition, our care
for the displaced, and our pursuit of a political resolution that achieves a
government that respects the dignity of its people.
But we are the United States
of America, and we cannot and must not turn a blind eye
to what happened in Damascus. Out of the ashes of world war, we built an
international order and enforced the rules that gave it meaning. And we did so because we believe that the
rights of individuals to live in peace and dignity depends on the
responsibilities of nations. We aren’t perfect,
but this nation more than any other has been willing to meet those responsibilities.
So to all members of Congress of both parties, I ask you to
take this vote for our national security.
I am looking forward to the debate.
And in doing so, I ask you, members of Congress, to consider that some
things are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the
moment.
Ultimately, this is not about who occupies this office at
any given time; it’s about who we are as a country. I believe that the people’s representatives
must be invested in what America
does abroad, and now is the time to show the world that America keeps
our commitments. We do what we say. And we lead with the belief that right makes
might -- not the other way around.
We all know there are no easy options. But I wasn’t elected to avoid hard decisions. And neither were the members of the House and
the Senate. I’ve told you what I
believe, that our security and our values demand that we cannot turn away from
the massacre of countless civilians with chemical weapons. And our democracy is stronger when the
President and the people’s representatives stand together.
I’m ready to act in the face of this outrage. Today I’m asking Congress to send a message
to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation.
Thanks very much.
END 2:02 P.M. EDT
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