President Obama today conceded that he could fail to convince the
American public to back proposed U.S. military strikes against Syria,
but said that members of Congress should vote to approve the action
anyway.
"It's conceivable that, at the end of the day, I don't persuade a
majority of the American people that it's the right thing to do," Obama
said in response to a question from ABC News during a solo press
conference at the conclusion of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
But, Obama said, members of Congress need to consider the lessons of
World War II and their own consciences and vote 'yes' to authorize the
use of force, even if it means going against the opinion of the majority
of their constituents.
"Each member of Congress is going to have to decide if [they] think it's
the right thing to do for America's national security and the world's
national security," Obama said. "Ultimately, you listen to your
constituents, but you've got to make some decisions about what you
believe is right for America."
A deeply skeptical public remains Obama's biggest hurdle to winning
authorization from Congress to use military force against President
Bashar al-Assad after he allegedly used chemical weapons in the Syrian
civil war.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll finds nearly six in ten
Americans oppose military intervention in Syria, even if chemical
weapons were used by the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Obama said he will make his case directly to the American people about
the need to act during a televised national address on Tuesday evening
from the White House.
"When there's a breach this brazen of a norm this important, and the
international community is paralyzed and frozen and doesn't act, then
that norm begins to unravel," Obama said of the longstanding
international prohibition against the use of chemical weapons.
"If that norm unravels, then other norms and prohibitions start
unraveling, and that makes for a more dangerous world, and that then
requires even more difficult choices and more difficult responses in the
future," he said.
The U.S. Senate today moved ahead with plans to vote on an authorization
for the use of military force, formally putting the measure on the
calendar for debate by the full chamber next week. A similar measure
has not yet emerged in the House, where aides have said a vote could be
delayed several weeks.
Meanwhile,
Obama claimed that there was a "unanimous," if private, conclusion among
world leaders attending the summit that chemical weapons were used in a
Syrian attack on Aug. 21 and that it required an international
response. But he said deep division remained over whether any use of
force should hinge on United Nations approval.
Russia, which has veto power on the U.N. Security Council, stands staunchly opposed to military intervention in Syria and has blocked all previous attempts at condemnation of Assad's tactics.
Ten countries of the 19 countries participating in the G20 today joined
the U.S. in a public statement calling for "strong international
response to this grave violation of the world's rules." But the
signatories, which include Australia, Japan, South Korea and Saudi
Arabia, stopped short of explicitly approving military force.
"I was elected to end wars and not start them," Obama said. "But what I
also know is that there are times where we have to make hard choices if
we're going to stand up for the things that we care about. And I
believe that this is one of those times."
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