President Obama Won’t Rush To Action In Syria


President Obama signaled on Tuesday that he will not rush to take action in Syria, despite calls from some top-ranking lawmakers to do so.

The US president also cautioned against rushing to judgement won whether Syria used chemical weapons against rebel forces last month. The caution was a sign Obama will take a deliberate approach to the problem, which could lead to US military intervention.

During a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, Obama stated that there is evidence the Middle Eastern nation used chemical weapons. However, he added:

” … we don’t know how they were used, when they were used, who used them, [and] we don’t have a chain of custody that establishes what exactly happened.”

The president added that it will take time to determine whether Syria’s government had crossed what the United States called its “red line” for involvement in the country’s bloody two-year conflict. He added, “I’ve got to make sure I’ve got the facts” before any decisions are made.

Obama added that the Defense Department has already prepared options that could be available if the suspected chemical weapons use in Syria turns out to be true. However, he refused to go into detail. The president appeared to be wary of launching any military action against Syria without firm evidence of chemical weapons. Obama added:

“If we end up rushing to judgement without hard, effective evidence, then we can find ourselves in the position where we can’t mobilize the international community to support what we do.”

The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad has acknowledged it holds a stockpile of chemical weapons. However, the government denies it was the one to use chemical weapons. When the incident happened in March, both sides blamed each other for it.

The war in Syria has gone on for more than two years. In the process, more than 70,000 people have been killed. It is not yet clear how lawmakers will respond to Obama’s caution against quick action in Syria.

[Image via mistydawnphoto / Shutterstock.com]

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