WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said on Saturday he had decided the United States should strike Syrian government targets in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack, but said he would seek a congressional vote for any military action.
Addressing reporters in the Rose garden, Obama said he had decided he would go ahead and take military action on Syria but he believed it was important for American democracy to win the support of lawmakers.
“We cannot and will not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus,” Obama said in statement at the White House Rose Garden.
The decision represents a significant gamble for Obama, who has an estranged relationship with lawmakers, especially Republicans, and he risks suffering the same fate as British Prime Minister David Cameron, who lost his own vote on authorising military action in parliament.
“I will seek authorisation for the use of force from the American people’s representatives in Congress,” Obama said.
Obama said that Congressional leaders had agreed to schedule a debate as soon as lawmakers return from their summer break.
There had been growing expectations in Washington that military action could even happen as soon as this weekend, but Obama’s decision means that will now not happen.
“We are prepared to strike whenever we choose.
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