No one could anticipate that Russia would step up diplomacy to persuade Assad to surrender his chemical weapons. Perhaps that is one scenario that could have been anticipated, however remote. Military pressure has a way of forcing an issue.
I believe Obama when he said he would go to war without Congressional approval if he has to. So did the Syrians, Russians, and Chinese.
War is a distasteful alternative that is surely a last resort. However, when it comes to matters of national security and global security for that matter, Obama knows that there is no wiggle room. He has nothing to lose at this point either. He is the President until his term ends.
When diplomatic solutions pop from the equation, the President and Secretary of State are there to grab them. After all, these two are not known for war advocacy. They are just the opposite.
The President surely needs and would like Congressional backing because that is what strikes fear into the enemy.
But, without it, so does principled Obama.
So the speech should be straightforward:
- Chemical weapons must be removed and eliminated from the hands of Bashar al-Assad.
- Those who used them must be held responsible.
- If Russia has a viable plan that the U.S. can sign onto along with UN inspectors and allies, then that can be implemented at once to avert a military strike.
- If there is any delay, hitch, or boondoggle, Obama and the U.S. have itchy trigger fingers.
“Obama’s Syria speech is now a dual challenge
By Dan Balz, Updated: Tuesday, September 10, 11:43 AM
Fast-moving events have altered the script for President Obama’s nationally televised speech about Syria. Obama is now in a position of having to argue for both war and diplomacy in the same address.
Tuesday night’s speech now becomes one more event in a haphazard and unpredictable process that has shifted repeatedly over the past two weeks. No one appears in control, as the past two days have underscored.Two weeks of administration efforts — public statements, private meetings with members of Congress, talks with international leaders and nonstop commentary on television — have done little to change public attitudes or, it would appear, the lack of support in Congress for military action.
With the surprise initiative to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control, triggered bySecretary of State John F. Kerry’s offhand comment in London on Monday and quickly seized upon by Russia and Syria and now the United Nations, the president’s challenge Tuesday night looks even more complicated than it did.
