Transcript: President Obama Turns To Congress On Syria

[struggle4progress]

August 31, 2013 3:01 PM

... after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets. This would not be an open-ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground ... Our military has positioned assets in the region. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose. Moreover, the Chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive ...

I'm also mindful that I'm the President of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. I've long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people ... I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress ... I spoke with all four congressional leaders, and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into session ...

... while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, ... We should have this debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual ...

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/31/217610904/transcript-president-obama-turns-to-congress-on-syria

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Putting this to congress is the right thing to do.

[struggle4progress]

2. It'll be a happy day when Congress finally decides to take its war-declaration

responsibilities seriously and begins conducting adult discussions on such matters

For as many years as I can remember, Congress has almost always tripped over its own feet in its rush to rubber-stamp any military action proposed by whoever's in the White House at the time

[BlueStreak]

3. This is a wise move

He made a serious mistake by drawing such a clear-cut line, but it is correct to put it back on Congress:

a) because that's what the Constitution says, which ought to be reason enough; and

b) that will stop some of those blowhards dead in their tracks.

Let Congress have their food fight. Meanwhile the Administration should be working behind the scenes to get a solution that is better than anything they could possibly accomplish by lobbing missiles into the middle of a civil war.