Nation awaits decision on action in Syria

On Aug. 31, President Barack Obama announced that he was seeking support from Congress to take military action against Syria in response to the recent deadly chemical weapons attack.

Several citizens may be wondering how the United States has gotten into this predicament, and where it all began. It’s been a two-year journey similar to one beginning with the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak being detained in a Cairo prison. Egypt and Syria became connected, because Syria is mimicking Egypt and challenging the dictatorship running the country, but unlike Egypt, the Syrian government is responding and showing no fear.

Recently, all the chaos began, from raids to Jihadists brotherhood wars, ending with Syria launching a nuclear attack on their own citizens killing more than 1,400 people.

“The United States should take military action against Syrian targets,” President Barack Obama said in a Rose Garden address on Aug. 31.

“In a world with many dangers, this menace [Syria] must be confronted. After careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets,” Obama said.

Obama said he was “prepared to give that order.” However, he said he would seek congressional authorization when federal lawmakers return from vacation which will be Sept. 9.

Obama’s decision came amid public opinion polls, showing that four out of five Americans wanted the president to seek lawmakers’ approval, and with more than 100 congressional signatures on letters delivering the same message.

Obama has acknowledged repeatedly that Americans are “war-weary” after a decade of conflict and worried about standing on the threshold of another escalating entanglement in the Middle East.

“This would not be an open-ended intervention, we would not put boots on the ground. Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. Some things are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the moment. Today I’m asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are united as one nation,” Obama said.

For the past several days, Obama has been meeting and talking with other world leaders such as the British Prime Minister to get everyone on the same page and work together to fix the problems in Syria. In an attempt to stop some of the ongoing violence in Syria, Obama has proposed a limited military action to dissuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons against his people.

Obama said he’s determined to hold Syria accountable for what U.S. intelligence experts have concluded were chemical weapons attacks against Syrian civilians. Syrian government denies all allegations, putting the blame on Jihadists rebel groups. If the United States does attack, people hope to acquire many allies such as The Arab League, Turkey and France.