Obama postpones attack on Syria , allowing himself and Russia more time
Washington
(AsiaNews) - President Barack Obama has decided to postpone the threatened
military attack against Syria, allowing time for Russia's diplomatic efforts to
bring Damascus' chemical weapons arsenal under international control for
destruction. In doing so he has also postponed a vote in Congress on the attack
military, which threatened to see Obama fail to obtain a majority of votes.
His
address to the nation had been announced as a strong appeal to the nation and
Congress to authorize the use of force. But
last night he conceded that the Russian initiative "has the potential to
remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force", though
seasoned with some skepticism : "In the meantime - he added - I have ordered
our soldiers to maintain the
current positions , putting pressure on Assad and to be in position to respond
if diplomacy fails . "
Obama
's gesture is also a last minute rescue of his leadership . Having
declared his intention to attack Syria for using chemical weapons against its own
people an increasing resistance to the idea has grown among the U.S. public and
parliamentarians. A
majority of representatives would have voted against the use of force and
various polls have shown that about two-thirds of the American population are
against a new military involvement in the Middle East.
In
addition, almost ironically , analysts argue that a military attack against
Assad would have favored the resistance , among which there are groups linked
to Al Qaeda. In
this way, the U.S. would have fought on the side of the terrorist organization,
on the anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York (11 September
2001 ), attributed to Al Qaeda.
Obama,
while repeating all the accusations against Syria, and reaffirming his
certainty that Damascus used chemical weapons on August 21 , said that the
Russian proposal provides "some encouraging signs " . For
this reason, tomorrow John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State , will meet the
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Obama himself will keep in contact
with his Russian counterpart , Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile
, at the UN Security Council, France and Britain are working on a resolution to
put a deadline on Syria for the delivery of chemical weapons and threaten the
use of force . But
Russia is opposed to putting too many conditions and especially that of a
threat .
Obama's
decision to delay the attack was met with a sigh of relief by the people of
Damascus. "We
are not animals, we are human beings", one woman told AFP . "People
must have the opportunity to talk with each other and not kill each other. When
I heard that there will be no attacks, I said to myself : Well, there will be
less dead."
The
woman, dressed in black and with tears in her eyes , was attending the funeral
of five Christians from Maalula , killed in clashes between the army and
rebels. "
Tell the world - she added - that we want peace ."
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10/09/2013
13/04/2021 17:34
