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Obama Gets Verbal Backing For Military Strike On Syria

“A refusal to act would undermine the credibility of America’s other security commitments, including the president’s commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

Chris Carrington

Published on

September 3, 2013

The BBC is reporting that Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor have verbally expressed support for military action in Syria.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met with Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic Leader, Joe Boehner, the House Speaker and the national security committee earlier today. Boehner, urging his fellow Republicans to support Obama said:

“Assad’s Syria, a state sponsor of terrorism, is the epitome of a rogue state, and it has long posed a direct threat to American interests and to our partners.”

Obama said he is confident that Congress will back him in the fight against Assad and his regime. He said he was proposing military action that would degrade President Assad’s capacity to use chemical weapons “now and in the future”.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said:

“The word of the United States must mean something” and echoed Mr Kerry when adding: “A refusal to act would undermine the credibility of America’s other security commitments, including the president’s commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

The Syrian government has denied that they used chemicals to attack the rebels fighting to depose it. And in a recent interview, Bashar al Assad gave notice that Syria would defend itself militarily and that US military action could cause a much wider regional conflict that could threaten stability in the Middle East.