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Obama Says World Set a ‘Red Line’ on Syria Obama Says World Set a ‘Red Line’ on Syria
(35 minutes later)
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.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.
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.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.
“I didn’t set a red line,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference here in Stockholm. “The world set a red line.”“I didn’t set a red line,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference here in Stockholm. “The world set a red line.”
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.”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.”
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.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.
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.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.
“We believe very strongly with high confidence that in fact chemical weapons were used and that Mr. Assad was the source,” the president said.“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.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 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. Mr. Obama’s comments here about not being the one who set a red line – a year after using the phrase – and Congress’s credibility being at stake rather than his own irritated some Republican allies on the vote just hours after they agreed to support him.
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. To them, the comments made it look as if he were disclaiming responsibility. “If he chooses to wash his hands of this, you can surely imagine how a vote will turn out,” said a Republican leadership aide who insisted on anonymity to avoid a more overt rupture with the White House.
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. Much like his decision to seek Congressional votes in the first place, the president’s remarks reflected an effort to break out of his isolation when it comes to military action against Syria. Not only has Russia blocked any United Nations action, but even America’s strongest ally, Britain, has opted against participating. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 59 percent of Americans oppose the proposed missile strike.
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. Standing at Mr. Obama’s side, Sweden’s prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, urged waiting for a report from United Nations inspectors, who have sent samples from the scene of the attack to a Swedish laboratory, and said he preferred any action be supported by the Security Council. “But I also understand the potential consequences of letting a violation like this go unanswered,” Mr. Reinfeldt said, in a nod to Mr. Obama’s position.
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?” American officials have dismissed the United Nations investigation because it is charged only with determining whether there was a chemical attack, which Washington considers undisputed, not the more contentious question of who was responsible. But Mr. Obama acknowledged that the mistaken intelligence about weapons of mass destruction before the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 haunts his current efforts.
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. “I’m very mindful that around the world and here in Europe in particular there are memories of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction accusations and people being concerned about how accurate this information is,” Mr. Obama said. “Keep in mind, I’m somebody who opposed the war in Iraq and am not interested in repeating mistakes basing decisions on false intelligence. But having done a thoroughgoing evaluation of the information that is available, I can say with high confidence that chemical weapons were used.”
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. More so than Sweden, Russia has been unremittingly hostile to the suggestion of a retaliatory strike against Syria. 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 chemical 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 Mr. Assad, a longtime Russian ally.
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. In the interview with The Associated Press released Wednesday, Mr. Putin said he would not rule out United Nations action but only if the Syrian government was proved culpable. He said American evidence of that so far is unconvincing and added that it seemed “completely ridiculous” to think that the Syrian Army would use chemical weapons when they had the advantage on the battlefield.
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. He also pointedly recalled the false Iraq intelligence. “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 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 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 American surveillance programs.
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. At his news conference here, Mr. Obama argued that his efforts to work with Russia had paid dividends in the first few years in the form of arms control, trade and military cooperation, while not hiding his more recent frustrations with Mr. Putin. “We kind of hit a wall in terms of additional progress,” Mr. Obama said. “But I have not written off the idea that the United States and Russia are going to have common interests” in the future.
In place of Moscow, Mr. Obama added the stop in Sweden, where he was the first sitting American president to come for a formal one-on-one visit. Unlike in Russia, he was welcomed as a friend. A Swedish newspaper called this 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 used the visit to try to assuage European concerns about the sort of eavesdropping that Mr. Snowden revealed, expressing his own ambivalence about the programs he has authorized. “I can give assurances to the publics in Europe and around the world that we’re not going around snooping on people’s e-mails or listening to their phone calls,” he said in response to a question from a Swedish reporter. “What we’re trying to do is target very specifically areas of concern.”
Having said that, he mused about the consequences of the rapid advance of technology, saying that “just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.” While in the past he has denied that the programs had been abused, he acknowledged that intelligence agencies had overstepped even the bounds they had agreed to live within.
“There have been times where the procedures, because these are human endeavors, have not worked the way they should and we have to tighten them up,” he said. “It may be that the laws that are currently in place are not sufficient to guard against the dangers of us being able to track so much.”
After meeting with Mr. Reinfeldt, Mr. Obama participated in a ceremony honoring Raoul Wallenberg, famed for saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis, at the Great Synagogue and Holocaust Memorial of Stockholm, and then visited an energy expo at the Royal Institute of Technology. He planned to 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, President Xi Jinping of China, who does not, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, who has avoided getting in the middle of the dispute. Aside from the canceled Moscow trip, Mr. Obama does not plan to meet with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg either, even though that would be typical with a summit host.
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.