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Obama Arrives in Sweden Before G-20 Summit Obama Says World Set a ‘Red Line’ on Syria
(about 2 hours later)
STOCKHOLM — President Obama arrived here Wednesday morning on the first stop of a brief overseas trip as he sought to shore up international support for a limited military strike against Syria’s government in retaliation for a reported chemical weapons attack. STOCKHOLM — President Obama declared on Wednesday that the confrontation with Syria over chemical weapons was not a personal test for him but for Congress, the country and the world as he worked to strengthen support at home and abroad for a punitive strike.
After an overnight flight from Washington, Mr. Obama embarked on a day of meetings and other events here in the Swedish capital before heading Thursday to St. Petersburg for a meeting of the Group of 20 nations hosted by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who opposes any American attack. Opening a three-day trip overseas at a delicate moment for his presidency, Mr. Obama challenged lawmakers and allies to stand behind his plans for a cruise missile attack on the government of President Bashar al-Assad in retaliation for what the Obama administration has concluded was a chemical attack that killed 1,400 people in the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, last month.
The trip comes as the president and his advisers are trying to convince Congress to pass a measure formally authorizing a punitive strike. Before taking off, Mr. Obama won support from Republican leaders in the House, but there is no guarantee they can rally rank-and-file members deeply wary about the prospect of the United States becoming entangled in another Middle East war. “I didn’t set a red line,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference here in Stockholm. “The world set a red line.”
The president faced a daunting challenge as well in Europe, where resistance is deep enough that even Britain, America’s strongest ally, opted out of participating in any strike. Sweden’s foreign minister, Carl Bildt, has said Syrian regime forces were clearly to blame for the Aug. 21 chemical attack that United States intelligence officials say killed more than 1,400 people in the suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, and agrees there should be a reaction. But he has also urged a delay while waiting for results of a United Nations inspection team that sent samples to a laboratory in Sweden. He added, “My credibility’s not on the line. The international community’s credibility’s on the line. And America and Congress’s credibility’s on the line.”
American officials have dismissed the international body’s investigation since it is charged only with determining whether there was a chemical attack, which Washington considers undisputed, not who was responsible for it. Mr. Obama laid blame for the Aug. 21 attack directly on Mr. Assad, whose government is known to have enormous stockpiles of banned chemical munitions including sarin gas, a nerve agent that American intelligence has said was deployed in a rebel-held part of the Damascus suburbs.
Russia has been more hostile to the suggestion of a retaliatory strike. Mr. Putin can use Russia’s veto to block United Nations Security Council action and has scoffed at the notion that the Syrian government was responsible for the attack, calling it “utter nonsense” and suggesting that it was a provocation by rebels eager to draw the United States into their civil war against President Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Russian ally. American intelligence has not disclosed any evidence that Mr. Assad personally ordered the use of sarin, but the White House has said he remains responsible as the leader of the country and its military. Mr. Obama’s language on Wednesday appeared to go a little further in singling out Mr. Assad.
In an interview with The Associated Press released Wednesday, Mr. Putin softened his tone somewhat, saying he would not rule out United Nations action but only if the Syrian government was proved culpable in the chemical attack. But he said American evidence of that is unconvincing and said it seemed “completely ridiculous” to think that the Syrian Army would use such weapons when they had the advantage on the battlefield. “We believe very strongly with high confidence that in fact chemical weapons were used and that Mr. Assad was the source,” the president said.
Mr. Obama arrived here Wednesday morning after an overnight flight from Washington for a one-day stop before heading on Thursday to St. Petersburg for a gathering of the Group of 20 nations hosted by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Putin has opposed any retaliatory attack on Syria, calling such action a violation of international law. Mr. Putin repeated in an interview released on Wednesday that he considered the American assertions of culpability by Syrian authorities to be absurd.
The trip comes as the president and his advisers are trying to convince Congress to pass a measure formally authorizing a punitive strike. Before taking off, Mr. Obama won support from Republican leaders in the House, but there was no guarantee they could rally rank-and-file members deeply wary about the prospect of the United States becoming entangled in another Middle East war.
The president faced a daunting challenge as well in Europe, where resistance is deep enough that even Britain, America’s strongest ally, opted out of participating in any strike. Sweden’s foreign minister, Carl Bildt, has said Syrian government forces were clearly to blame for the Aug. 21 chemical attack. and agreed there should be a reaction. But he has also urged a delay while awaiting results of an inquiry by a United Nations inspection team that sent samples to a laboratory in Sweden.
American officials have dismissed the international body’s investigation because it is charged only with determining whether there was a chemical attack, which Washington considers undisputed, not who was responsible.
Mr. Putin, who can use Russia’s veto to block United Nations Security Council action on Syria, has suggested that if there was a chemical weapons attack, it was a provocation by rebels eager to draw the United States into the rebels’ civil war against President Assad, a longtime Russian ally and weapons client.
In the interview with The Associated Press released Wednesday, Mr. Putin softened his tone somewhat, saying he would not rule out United Nations action but only if the Syrian government had been proved culpable. Mr. Putin also said American evidence of that is unconvincing and said it seemed “completely ridiculous” to think that the Syrian Army would use such weapons when they had the advantage on the battlefield.
He also pointedly recalled the inaccurate American intelligence on weapons of mass destruction that led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “All these arguments turned out to be untenable, but they were used to launch a military action, which many in the U.S. called a mistake,” Mr. Putin said. “Did we forget about that?”He also pointedly recalled the inaccurate American intelligence on weapons of mass destruction that led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “All these arguments turned out to be untenable, but they were used to launch a military action, which many in the U.S. called a mistake,” Mr. Putin said. “Did we forget about that?”
The clash over Syria comes as relations between the United States and Russia have hit their lowest point since Mr. Obama came to office determined to rebuild ties. He had originally scheduled a separate visit with Mr. Putin in Moscow before the St. Petersburg summit meeting, but abruptly canceled it last month after Russia gave temporary asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who disclosed secret surveillance programs.The clash over Syria comes as relations between the United States and Russia have hit their lowest point since Mr. Obama came to office determined to rebuild ties. He had originally scheduled a separate visit with Mr. Putin in Moscow before the St. Petersburg summit meeting, but abruptly canceled it last month after Russia gave temporary asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who disclosed secret surveillance programs.
Instead, Mr. Obama added a stop in Sweden, where he was greeted in friendly fashion. A Swedish newspaper described its country a “Little USA” and described the way it was trying to emulate America politically, economically and culturally. Still, the leader of a small political party said Mr. Obama should stop tapping her e-mail account and give back his Nobel Peace Prize.Instead, Mr. Obama added a stop in Sweden, where he was greeted in friendly fashion. A Swedish newspaper described its country a “Little USA” and described the way it was trying to emulate America politically, economically and culturally. Still, the leader of a small political party said Mr. Obama should stop tapping her e-mail account and give back his Nobel Peace Prize.
Mr. Obama will meet Wednesday with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and then hold a short news conference. Mr. Obama also plans to participate in a ceremony honoring Raoul Wallenberg, famed for saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis, at the Great Synagogue and Holocaust Memorial of Stockholm, then visit an energy expo at the Royal Institute of Technology and have dinner with Mr. Reinfeldt and the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. Before his news conference, here, Mr. Obama met with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Mr. Obama also planned to participate in a ceremony honoring Raoul Wallenberg, famed for saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis, at the Great Synagogue and Holocaust Memorial of Stockholm, then visit an energy expo at the Royal Institute of Technology and have dinner with Mr. Reinfeldt and the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway.
Mr. Obama will fly Thursday to St. Petersburg, where in addition to the G-20 activities he will meet separately with President François Hollande of France, who supports a strike on Syria, and President Xi Jinping of China, who does not. Aside from the canceled Moscow trip, Mr. Obama does not plan to meet with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg either, even though that would by typical with a summit host.Mr. Obama will fly Thursday to St. Petersburg, where in addition to the G-20 activities he will meet separately with President François Hollande of France, who supports a strike on Syria, and President Xi Jinping of China, who does not. Aside from the canceled Moscow trip, Mr. Obama does not plan to meet with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg either, even though that would by typical with a summit host.
The last time a president attended an international summit meeting in St. Petersburg was in 2006 and Syria was high on the agenda then, too. Israel had just launched a monthlong war in Lebanon against Syrian-supported Hezbollah militants. President George W. Bush resisted pressure from allies to intervene to stop Israel and was overheard complaining that the United Nations secretary general should call Mr. Assad and tell him to restrain Hezbollah.The last time a president attended an international summit meeting in St. Petersburg was in 2006 and Syria was high on the agenda then, too. Israel had just launched a monthlong war in Lebanon against Syrian-supported Hezbollah militants. President George W. Bush resisted pressure from allies to intervene to stop Israel and was overheard complaining that the United Nations secretary general should call Mr. Assad and tell him to restrain Hezbollah.
Much as Mr. Bush did, Mr. Obama will use his brief time in Russia to show support for opposition leaders and human rights activists under pressure from Mr. Putin’s government. The president will host a round table with what the White House calls civil society leaders and invite media cameras to record the moment. The Moscow government has cracked down on protests, arrested organizers and passed new laws targeting nongovernmental organizations and gays and lesbians.Much as Mr. Bush did, Mr. Obama will use his brief time in Russia to show support for opposition leaders and human rights activists under pressure from Mr. Putin’s government. The president will host a round table with what the White House calls civil society leaders and invite media cameras to record the moment. The Moscow government has cracked down on protests, arrested organizers and passed new laws targeting nongovernmental organizations and gays and lesbians.
Mr. Obama returns to Washington late Friday in time for Congressional debates and votes on Syria next week.Mr. Obama returns to Washington late Friday in time for Congressional debates and votes on Syria next week.