America’s involvement in Syria is still yet to be decided. On Sept. 10, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to the United States Senate, again making a case for military action in Syria.
According to Al-Jazeera, Kerry stressed that President Obama’s first choice of action in the situation is, and always has been, diplomacy, but Syria’s actions that have led to the necessity for violence.
Kerry said that President Assad could avoid an attack from the U.S. if he “turns over every single bit of his chemical weapons in the next week,” but that Kerry didn’t see any chance of that happening.
Kerry mentioned that Syria’s use of chemical weapons was not only an act that violated laws of war, but one that presented danger to the United States.
President Obama echoed this concern when he addressed the nation from the White House on Sept. 10, stressing the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government as a main cause for U.S. involvement. He also linked Syria’s action to Iran’s nuclear program.
If fighting spills beyond Syria’s borders, these weapons could threaten allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel,” Obama said. “And a failure to stand against the use of chemical weapons would weaken prohibitions against other weapons of mass destruction, and embolden Assad’s ally, Iran—which must decide whether to ignore international law by building a nuclear weapon, or to take a more peaceful path.”
Vladimir Putin, in an effort to seemingly calm the situation, extended a diplomatic offer to Assad, the conditions of which were that he turn over his chemical weapons to the international community if President Obama ceases to threaten military strikes, The Hill reported.
Since, the political pressure has been on to urge lawmakers and the president to accept Putin’s offer.
Putin wrote an opinion editorial that ran in the New York Times on Thursday, Sept. 11. Putin urged the United States to consider the international implications of any military action.
One of the more controversial portions of Putin’s piece chastised America for its view of “American exceptionalism.”
“It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the reason,” he wrote. “We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.”
After President Obama’s remarks on Sept. 10, Putin added that his diplomatic offer will only work if “the American side and all those who support the United States in this sense reject the use of force,” according to Al-Jazeera.
