By A U.S. military strike targeting Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons has been delayed, pending a congressional vote on the use of military force, according to the Washington Post.
The decision to seek congressional approval was made public when President Barack Obama spoke to reporters at the White House Saturday.
“While I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course,” Obama said.
Although we are split on whether U.S. involvement in Syria will see significant results, we applaud Obama for seeking congressional approval.
Consulting one of the world’s most powerful legislative bodies before an act of war is a wise move.
Although Obama never specified what legal precedent he would have used to justify a military strike, we assume it would have been something like the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
According to the resolution, a president can send troops to a foreign country without congressional approval for up to 60 days, as long as he reports to Congress.
But we are glad that Obama did not resort to justifying military action in Syria with the War Powers Resolution.
While Obama has yet to publicly lay out the case for intervention in Syria, we are concerned by the disparity of evidence concerning chemical weapons use in the country.
According to the L.A. Times, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. has evidence that chemical weapons were used in Syria.
“These are facts,” Kerry said. “The primary question is what are we … going to do about it?”
Kerry’s comments are in stark contrast to those of the United Nations, who has yet to release a report saying whether chemical weapons were in fact used.
Regardless of what transpires in Syria, we are pleased that Obama decided to err on the side of caution and consult Congress.
But we also acknowlege that even though his decision to wait may be popular, it can lead to negative consequences.
According to USA Today, Congress isn’t scheduled to return from summer break until Sept. 9.
Given the time gap, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be able to fortify his defenses against a possible U.S. strike.
Regardless of whether Congress approves the use of force in Syria, it’s clear that Obama made the right step by consulting Congress.
