A day before speaking to the American public about Syria, President Barack Obama told network news reporters he hasn’t decided yet if he will order military strikes even if the House or Senate reject the idea.
“It’s fair to say I haven’t decided,” Obama told NBC News, one of six television interviews conducted at the White House.
Obama also told network anchors he is aware of public opposition, isn’t confident he has the support of Congress right now, and that final Senate and House votes could be delayed.
“We’re going to spend this week talking to members of Congress, answering their questions, and I’m going to speak to the American people tomorrow night directly,” Obama told NBC News, adding that he’ll evaluate military plans after Congress votes.
“I’ve made my decision about what I think is best for America’s national interests,” he said, “but this is one where I think it’s important for me to pay close attention to what Congress and the American people say.”
In a session with ABC News, Obama said that “I don’t anticipate that you would see a succession of votes this week or anytime in the immediate future.”
One reason: A new proposal by Russia – a Syrian ally – to have Bashar Assad’s government place its chemical weapons under international control.
The United States will evaluate that plan, Obama said, though he told CBS News “we don’t know the details of it yet.”
But, he told CNN, “we’re going to take this seriously,” and said to PBS that he has discussed the idea with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and “my intention throughout this process has been to ensure that the blatant use of chemical weapons that we saw doesn’t happen again.”
On Fox, Obama said, “we will pursue this diplomatic track” and “I fervently hope that this can be resolved in a nonmilitary way.”
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Obama’s speech on Syria
President Barack Obama will address the nation about Syria in a televised speech at 7 p.m. tonight on most major broadcast networks.
