[UPI News] – ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Sept. 6 (UPI) — U.S. President Barack Obama said he will address the American people Tuesday about the reasons why he wants to launch a limited military strike on Syria.”I’ll make the best case I can to the American people, as well as the international community” for a military response to evidence that President Bashar Assad‘s forces used chemical weapons in a mid-August attack on Damascus suburbs, Obama said Friday during a news conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he is attending the Group of 20 summit.”I believe that when you have limited proportional strike like this … not some long drawn-out affair … we should be willing to bear that responsibility,” Obama said.
“Over 1,400 people were gassed; over 400 of them were children,” Obama said. “This is not something we’ve fabricated, not something we are using as an excuse for military action. I was elected to end wars, not start them.”He did not directly answer several questions about whether he would proceed with a military assault if Congress fails to approve his authorization response.He said he knew it would be a “heavy lift” taking his authorization request to Congress, where members from both parties in both houses have expressed reluctance to outright opposition to a military response.The White House released a joint statement by leaders and representatives of Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, Britain and the United States at the G20 summit that condemned the chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21.”The international norm against the use of chemical weapons is longstanding and universal. The use of chemical weapons anywhere diminishes the security of people everywhere. Left unchallenged, it increases the risk of further use and proliferation of these weapons,” the statement said.”We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21st that claimed the lives of so many men, women, and children,” the statement said. “The evidence clearly points to the Syrian government being responsible for the attack, which is part of a pattern of chemical weapons use by the regime.”Obama said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin — who has backed Syria, Russia‘s long-time ally — about the situation, noting that the two leaders agree on some issues while disagreeing on others.Obama said he told Putin he didn’t expect the two leaders to agree, “although it is possible that after the U.N. inspectors report it may be more difficult for Mr. Putin to maintain his current position.”….
Read More: Obama makes case for response to chemical weapons use in Syria