President Barack Obama addressed the nation at 9 p.m. (EDT) Tuesday on the topic of Syria. The president said he has asked Congress to postpone Wednesday’s vote on a resolution for a military strike in Syria while all diplomatic efforts continue.
Earlier Tuesday it was confirmed that Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva after the Russian government reportedly made an agreement with Syrian officials over the handing over of chemical weapons.
Obama has said that through a “targeted military strike” the US military will diminish the Syrian regime’s ability to use chemical weapons. The president noted that Iran must decide if it wants to follow international law or will continue with its plans to build a nuclear weapon.
The United States military doesn’t do “pin pricks” Obama said when he addressed the impact of a targeted strike. The president then reiterated John Kerry’s earlier claim that there will be no boots on the ground. Obama went further to add that there would not even be a prolonged aerial bombardment similar to Kosovo and Libya.
The president channelled the spirit of Sir Edmund Burke when he said: “When dictators commit atrocities, they depend on the world to look the other way.” Imitating the proverb that: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Full transcript below.