WASHINGTON, Sept 1: US President Barack Obama has decided to bypass the UN Security Council, go ahead with limited military action in Syria and said the 15-member body is unwilling to hold the Bashar al-Assad regime accountable for the alleged use of chemical weapons.
“I’m comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralysed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable,” Obama said yesterday.
Obama, without naming anyone, put the blame on those countries who are not willing to support his agenda on Syria, which he argued is justified.
“I don’t expect every nation to agree with the decision we have made. Privately we’ve heard many expressions of support from our friends. But I will ask those who care about the writ of the international community to stand publicly behind our action,” Obama said.
Though he announced his decision to bypass the UN Security Council, Obama said he would seek the US Congress’ approval for his administration to take military action against the Assad regime.
In an address to the nation from the Rose Garden of the White House, Obama accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, urged Congress to debate and vote for his decision.
“While the UN investigation has some time to report on its findings, we will insist that an atrocity committed with chemical weapons is not simply investigated, it must be confronted,” he added.
The remarks by Obama came a day after his administration released its intelligence assessment blaming the Assad regime for using chemical weapons against its own people that killed 1,429, including at least 426 children. (PTI)
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