The Future of US Influence Around the Globe Hinges on President Obama’s Choice
President Obama is scheduled to address the nation tonight to explain why he thinks Congress should authorize the use of American military force in response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons.
Although polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans oppose military intervention, Obama argues that the credibility of the United States and the international community is at stake.
It is clearly a major moment for the president and for the future of US influence around the globe.
Obama administration officials have welcomed discussion of a Russian proposal to avert American strikes in Syria by getting the government of Bashar Al-Assad to declare and dismantle its chemical weapons arsenal. Discussions are under way at the United Nations in New York about how this could work. There is plenty of skepticism about the Russian plan. Julia Ioffe puts it very simply in this piece, arguing that “Obama Got Played by Putin and Assad.”
But former US Ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder says it’s the other way around. President Obama’s hand is now strengthened, Daalder says, by a possible diplomatic breakthrough on the international stage.
Anchor Marco Werman talks to The World’s Matthew Bell, who has been tracking the diplomatic developments Tuesday and brings us the latest.
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