Barack Obama. Photograph by Pete Souza
US President Barack Obama has won the backing of key political figures from across the aisle in the US for his plans for a military strike on Syria.
Obama spoke of “high confidence” in the intelligence that Bashar al-Assad’s forces used chemical weapons in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus, killing more than 1,300 people including more than 400 children. He accentuated the message that international norms should be enforced from the Chemical Weapons Convention which is signed by 98% of countries around the world, not including Syria.
He went on to described Assad’s chemical weapons stockpile as a security threat to the United States and the Middle East, but appreciated that any military action should have cross-party support, saying:
“I’ve made a decision that America should take action…[but]we will be stronger if we take action together, as one nation”
Key Republican leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor both signalled their support for Obama’s plans for “limited, proportional” military action that will “send a clear message” about the use of chemical weapons, a strike that will degrade Assad’s military capabilities.
House of Representatives majority leader, Eric Cantor, called Syria the “the epitome of a rogue state” and “a state sponsor of terrorism” whilst signalling his support for Obama’s plans. Congress is expected to vote next week.
Whilst the UK Parliament voted not to be part of any military action in Syria, President Hollande of France has signalled that the French were ready to support any American military plan in response to what he called a “chemical massacre”.
100,000 people are believed to have been killed in the 30 months of civil war in Syria, with five million people displaced within the country, and two million more becoming refugees elsewhere such as in the camps in neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon.
