Syria Crisis: Obama's Tuesday night speech and other developments

Syrian crisis: Keeping up with key developments

A day after President Barack Obama made his case for both for military intervention and diplomacy in Syria, world powers worked Wednesday to defuse the crisis.

Syria has agreed to a Russian plan to give up its chemical weapons, a move that could forestall international military strikes and possibly give diplomacy some positive traction.

But the bloody conflict in Syria continues to rage, and roadblocks and questions remain as to what's next for the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation. Keep reading

Obama conditionally backs offer on Syria

President Barack Obama conditionally endorsed a Russian offer for international inspectors to seize and destroy deadly chemical weapons in Syria as efforts to avert retaliatory U.S. missile strikes shift from Washington to the United Nations.

In a nationally televised address Tuesday night, Obama offered a rationale for greater U.S. intervention in a sectarian civil war that has dragged on for more than two years even while acknowledging that winning the hearts and minds of Americans to back another Mideast conflict remains a struggle.

The continued erosion of support in Congress for military strikes — and the resistance among the American people — underscored Obama's challenge. The president said he had asked congressional leaders to delay a vote on a resolution authorizing limited military strikes, a step that gives the Russian offer crucial time to work and avoids a potentially debilitating defeat for Obama, at least for the time being. Keep reading

Also see
Obama delays Syria vote, says diplomacy may work
Talking diplomacy in Syria, Obama goes to Congress
Obama: U.S. military ready if Russia’s Syria plan fails

Obama's Syria speech: 10 things you need to know

President Obama told the nation Tuesday he is exploring a Russian diplomatic plan to end a chemical weapons dispute in Syria, but reserves the right to take military action. Obama spoke to the country about why Syria matters, and where the nation goes from here. Among the key questions he attempted to answer.... Keep reading

Also see
President Obama Syria Speech Transcript Text September 10, 2013: Obama Makes Case for Military Strike on Syria

John Kerry May Have Accidentally Discovered the Reason to Not Attack Syria

In an off-the-cuff, dismissive remark Monday, U.S. Sec. of State Kerry suggested an idea that many in the international community are beginning to take serious – if Syria gives up all of its chemical weapons, the United States will not attack.

"Sure, [Assad] could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week – turn it over, all of it without delay and allow the full and total accounting. But he isn't about to do it and it can't be done," Kerry said at a press conference.

Watching the video posted to The Independent, it is clear that Kerry was not suggesting it as a serious proposal. He followed up the remarks with details of how Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has not been trustworthy or credible in the past. Keep reading

Poll: More Democrats Than Republicans Support Syria Strike; Most Americans Against Intervention

More Democrats than Republicans support U.S. air strikes on Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, though most Americans as a whole are not in favor of military intervention and do not believe President Barack Obama is handling the conflict well, a poll has found.

According to the CBS News/New York Times poll, 61 percent of Americans oppose military strikes against Syria. While 41 percent of Democrats are in favor, only 28 percent of Republicans said the same. The majority of respondents, or 56 percent, also said that they disapprove of how Obama is handling the conflict, and only 14 percent believe the president has really explained America's goals in the region.

The poll surveyed 1,011 people across America from Sept. 6-8, and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus three percentage points. Keep reading

Americans still mixed, hesitant after Obama's Syria plea

Yahoo News asked Americans to respond to President Barack Obama’s Tuesday night address on Syria. Here are excerpts from some reactions we received. Keep reading

From all appearances the Obama administration was not seriously pursing a diplomatic solution to the Syria crisis but was intent upon a punitive strike against the Assad regime. In Tuesday night speech President Obama did not address the high likelihood of widespread collateral casualties in the civilian population if the United States attacks Syria's chemical warfare assets. He also played down the threat of Islamic extremism in Syria.