On Tuesday, President Barack Obama addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House in a 17-minute speech laying out his strategy for Syria in the wake of the nation's alleged use of chemical weapons.
The president was poised and eloquent in his nationally televised address as he made a case for taking military action in the country if needed, but stressed that his administration prefers to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
Originally, Obama's Syria speech focussed on convincing the American public and Congress to back his plan to launch a limited military strike against Syria. However, on Monday, Syria unexpectedly agreed to a Russia-backed proposal to turn over its stockpile of chemical weapons to international control. As a result, Obama's speechwriters refocused his rhetoric, asserting the U.S. would only pursue military action against the regime if diplomacy fails.
Here's how Obama laid out a handful of key points in his speech.
- Syria is still dangerous, but there's no need to act just yet while we pursue this new diplomatic approach.
- At the core of Obama's argument was a moral appeal. "When dictators commit atrocities, they depend on the world to look the other way," he said. However, he added that if the use of chemical warfare against civilians is condemned but tolerated by America, then this will push the bounds of acceptable behavior in the future.
He said: "If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. As the ban against these weapons erodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas, and using them."
- Obama also stated that not responding to Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons, which killed more than 1,400 people, would allow him to use them again and would embolden other regimes hostile to the U.S.
"What kind of world will we live in if the United States of America sees a dictator brazenly violate international law with poison gas and we choose to look the other way?" Obama said.
"Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used."
- To further emphasize his point, Obama evoked an emotional appeal for striking Syria by depicting the lives of innocent children that were lost in Syria due to chemical warfare. He also went so far as to urge Americans to watch graphic videos of the aftermath of the attack in Syria.
"To my friends on the left, I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain, and going still on a cold hospital floor," said Obama.
- Obama carefully argued the role that America should play in the world in the 21st century. He said twice that America was "not the world's policeman," but that in a case like Syria, we should proceed with sending a moral message around the globe with small risks.
- The president went above and beyond to drive home the point that Syria is not Iraq. He also pledged again to keep American boots off Syrian ground.
"I've spent four and a half years working to end wars, not to start them," said the president.
He continued: "First, many of you have asked, won't this put us on a slippery slope to another war? My answer is simple: I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria. I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan. I will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo. This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective: deterring the use of chemical weapons, and degrading Assad's capabilities."
In the end, Obama was somewhat successful in touching the millions of Americans who are weary of war and don't agree that America has the moral authority to get involved in Syria's complicated civil unrest two years after it began. According to a CNN instant poll that surveyed reaction to his address on Syria, 61 percent of respondents said that they supported the president's "position on Syria." However, only 47 percent of respondents said that Obama made a "convincing case" about the need for military action in Syria, compared with 50 percent who said he didn't.
Moreover, Americans favored a diplomatic solution -- about two-thirds of respondents said that they thought the situation in Syria would "likely" be resolved diplomatically, while 35 percent disagreed.