After week long internal debates and discussions whether or not US should push for a military strike to punish Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria for the alleged use of chemical weapons (in Damascus, on Aug 21), the President of United States Barack Obama has now sought for a congressional approval to authorize the action. So, this is now official and imminent that US has its options open in terms of military interventions even though Britain, Russia and China have opposed the same.
With this, Obama has now put it straight to the Republicans whether or not US will stand up its principle that no one can bypass international norms and use chemical weapons to kills hundreds of people, as happened in Syria. At the same time, the President has also given answer to his critics who were demanding a debate on Syria by Congress.
Just to refresh our memory, Obama had not asked for authorization for the operation which ousted Moamer Kadhafi in Libya. This was largely criticised by the Republicans on account of US’s own security over the subsequent attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Moreover, when Russia and China have vetoed any military action, it was essential for Obama to at least take Congress by his side in the wake of a war without a UN mandate.
Among powerful United States allies, only France has come out openly in support of any kind of military action against Syria while Britain has backed out following a parliamentary reversal where opposition Labour party as well as lawmakers in his own Conservative party asked for more concrete evidence before nodding for a military action. Prime Minister David Cameron was even reminded with the lessons of 2003 Iraq War.
Nevertheless, the US has made it clear that it will act alone against Syria, if it comes under such a situation to do so. On the other hand, citing Russia and China’s opposition, a United Nations inspection whether or not chemical weapons were used in Syria was essential. The UN is yet to come out with its final report which are days away.
Major world powers including Russia, Britain and Germany contend that the UN must assess the inspection result before embarking on any military campaign. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has also viewed that United States should abide by the UN charter that means no action should be taken without a Security Council resolution. Russia - a key ally of Syria - has warned that any unilateral action by US would be a direct violation of international law.
If the United States goes for war with a Congressional approval, in most certainty, it will go for a limited surgical missile strikes as it wants to avoid any causalities on aid workers, hundreds of rebels imprisoned by Syrian military, as well as civilians. Certainly, under such circumstances, there will be no long-term campaign unlike Iraq. In the end, it all boils down to US and France to send Damascus a "strong message".
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