Obama seeks congressional blessing for attacking Syria

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Obama seeks congressional blessing for attacking Syria

(Xinhua) 13:30, September 01, 2013

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 31-- U.S. President Barack Obama was in no mood to seek congressional blessing, and his administration once built up its case to a point in the past days that a military attack on Syria seemed impending.

However, the president announced on Saturday that he would obtain congressional approval before ordering military strikes on the Syrian government to punish its use of chemical weapons last week, a dramatic turnaround that is deemed a gamble.

"WE SHOULD HAVE THIS DEBATE"

"I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress," Obama declared in a statement made at the White House Rose Garden, with Vice President Joseph Biden standing at his side.

The president said: "We should have this debate. I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end."

"The issue is too big for business as usual," he added.

In fact, Obama does not have to go to Congress for a seal of approval, just as he did not when he ordered air raids on Libya in March 2011 in what he and his allies called a mission to protect the civilians from massacre by the Gaddafi government.

The War Powers Resolution, passed by Congress in 1973, demanded that presidents obtain an authorization before sending troops into "hostilities" or "situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances" to keep the operation going beyond 60 days.

In practice, presidents since have ignored the resolution and simply notified Congress of their operations.

And the Obama administration is weighing "limited" operation that would reportedly last only days and involve sea-launched cruise missiles or possibly long-range bombers.

"This would not be an open-ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground," Obama said Saturday, echoing a refrain repeated by his administration in the past days. "Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope."