Obama to seek congressional OK for Syria action

With Navy ships on standby in the Mediterranean Sea ready to launch their cruise missiles, Obama said he had decided the United States should take military action and that he believes that as commander in chief, he has ‘the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorisation.’

At the same time, he said, ‘I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective.’ His remarks were televised live in the United States as well as on Syrian state television with translation.

Congress is scheduled to return from a summer vacation on 9 September, and in anticipation of the coming debate, Obama challenged lawmakers to consider ‘what message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price.’

The president didn’t say so, but his strategy carries enormous risks to his and the nation’s credibility, which the administration has argued forcefully is on the line in Syria. Obama long ago said the use of chemical weapons was a ‘red line’ that Assad would not be allowed to cross with impunity.

Nor would the White House say what options would still be open to the president if he fails to win the backing of the House and Senate for the military measures he has threatened. Only this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a humiliating defeat when the House of Commons refused to support his call for military action against Syria. Halfway around the world, Syrians awoke on Saturday to state television broadcasts of tanks, planes and other weapons of war, and troops training, all to a soundtrack of martial music. Assad’s government blames rebels in the 21 August attack, and has threatened retaliation if it is attacked. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was appealing to a Nobel Peace laureate rather than to a president, urged Obama to reconsider. A group that monitors casualties in the long Syrian civil war challenged the United States to substantiate its claim that 1,429 died in a chemical weapons attack, including more than 400 children. Administration officials said Obama appeared set on ordering a strike until Friday evening, but he changed his mind and decided to seek authorisation from the Congress.