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The President:
My fellow Americans,
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tonight I want to talk
to you about Syria --
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why it matters,
and where we go from here.
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Over the past two years,
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what began as a series
of peaceful protests
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against the repressive
regime of Bashar al-Assad
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has turned into
a brutal civil war.
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Over 100,000 people
have been killed.
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Millions have fled the country.
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In that time, America
has worked with allies
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to provide
humanitarian support,
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to help the
moderate opposition,
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and to shape a
political settlement.
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But I have resisted calls
for military action,
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because we cannot resolve
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someone else's
civil war through force,
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particularly after a decade
of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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The situation profoundly
changed, though, on August 21st,
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when Assad's government gassed
to death over a thousand people,
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including hundreds of children.
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The images from this massacre
are sickening: Men, women,
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children lying in rows,
killed by poison gas.
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Others foaming at the mouth,
gasping for breath.
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A father clutching
his dead children,
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imploring them to
get up and walk.
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On that terrible night,
the world saw in gruesome detail
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the terrible nature
of chemical weapons,
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and why the overwhelming
majority of humanity
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has declared them off-limits --
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a crime against humanity,
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and a violation of
the laws of war.
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This was not always the case.
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In World War I, American GIs
were among the many thousands
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killed by deadly gas in
the trenches of Europe.
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In World War II,
the Nazis used gas
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to inflict the horror
of the Holocaust.
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Because these weapons
can kill on a mass scale,
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with no distinction
between soldier and infant,
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the civilized world has spent
a century working to ban them.
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And in 1997,
the United States Senate
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overwhelmingly approved
an international agreement
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prohibiting the use
of chemical weapons,
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now joined by 189 governments
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that represent
98 percent of humanity.
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On August 21st,
these basic rules were violated,
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along with our sense
of common humanity.
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No one disputes that chemical
weapons were used in Syria.
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The world saw thousands of
videos, cell phone pictures,
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and social media
accounts from the attack,
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and humanitarian organizations
told stories of hospitals
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packed with people who had
symptoms of poison gas.
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Moreover, we know the
Assad regime was responsible.
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In the days leading
up to August 21st,
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we know that Assad's chemical
weapons personnel prepared
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for an attack near an area
where they mix sarin gas.
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They distributed
gasmasks to their troops.
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Then they fired rockets
from a regime-controlled area
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into 11 neighborhoods
that the regime
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has been trying to wipe clear
of opposition forces.
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Shortly after those rockets
landed, the gas spread,
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and hospitals filled with
the dying and the wounded.
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We know senior figures in
Assad's military machine
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reviewed the results
of the attack,
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and the regime increased
their shelling
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of the same neighborhoods
in the days that followed.
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We've also studied samples of
blood and hair from people
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at the site that tested
positive for sarin.
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When dictators
commit atrocities,
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they depend upon the world
to look the other way
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until those horrifying
pictures fade from memory.
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But these things happened.
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The facts cannot be denied.
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The question now is what
the United States of America,
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and the international community,
is prepared to do about it.
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Because what happened
to those people --
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to those children --
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is not only a violation
of international law,
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it's also a danger
to our security.
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Let me explain why.
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If we fail to act, the Assad
regime will see no reason
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to stop using chemical weapons.
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As the ban against
these weapons erodes,
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other tyrants will have no
reason to think twice
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about acquiring poison
gas, and using them.
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Over time, our troops would
again face the prospect
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of chemical warfare
on the battlefield.
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And it could be easier for
terrorist organizations
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to obtain these weapons,
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and to use them
to attack civilians.
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If fighting spills
beyond Syria's borders,
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these weapons could threaten
allies like Turkey,
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Jordan, and Israel.
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And a failure to stand against
the use of chemical weapons
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would weaken prohibitions
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against other weapons
of mass destruction,
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and embolden
Assad's ally, Iran --
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which must decide whether
to ignore international law
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by building a nuclear weapon,
or to take a more peaceful path.
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This is not a world
we should accept.
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This is what's at stake.
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And that is why, after
careful deliberation,
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I determined that it is in the
national security interests
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of the United States to respond
to the Assad regime's use
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of chemical weapons through
a targeted military strike.
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The purpose of this strike would
be to deter Assad from using
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chemical weapons, to degrade his
regime's ability to use them,
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and to make clear to the world
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that we will not
tolerate their use.
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That's my judgment
as Commander-in-Chief.
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But I'm also
the President of the world's
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oldest constitutional democracy.
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So even though
I possess the authority
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to order military strikes,
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I believed it was right,
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in the absence of a direct or
imminent threat to our security,
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to take this debate to Congress.
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I believe our democracy is
stronger when the President acts
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with the support of Congress.
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And I believe that America acts
more effectively abroad
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when we stand together.
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This is especially true after
a decade that put more and more
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war-making power in the
hands of the President,
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and more and more burdens on
the shoulders of our troops,
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while sidelining
the people's representatives
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from the critical decisions
about when we use force.
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Now, I know that
after the terrible toll
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of Iraq and Afghanistan,
the idea of any military action,
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no matter how limited,
is not going to be popular.
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After all, I've spent
four and a half years
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working to end wars,
not to start them.
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Our troops are out of Iraq.
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Our troops are coming
home from Afghanistan.
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And I know Americans want
all of us in Washington --
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especially me --
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to concentrate on the task
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of building our
nation here at home:
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putting people back to work,
educating our kids,
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growing our middle class.
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It's no wonder, then, that
you're asking hard questions.
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So let me answer some of the
most important questions
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that I've heard from
members of Congress,
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and that I've read in letters
that you've sent to me.
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First, many of you have asked,
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won't this put us on
a slippery slope to another war?
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One man wrote to me that we
are "still recovering
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from our involvement in Iraq."
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A veteran put it more bluntly:
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"This nation is sick
and tired of war."
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My answer is simple:
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I will not put American boots
on the ground in Syria.
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I will not pursue an open-ended
action like Iraq or Afghanistan.
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I will not pursue a
prolonged air campaign
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like Libya or Kosovo.
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This would be a targeted strike
to achieve a clear objective:
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deterring the use
of chemical weapons,
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and degrading
Assad's capabilities.
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Others have asked whether
it's worth acting
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if we don't take out Assad.
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As some members of
Congress have said,
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there's no point in simply doing
a "pinprick" strike in Syria.
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Let me make something clear:
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The United States
military doesn't do pinpricks.
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Even a limited strike will
send a message to Assad
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that no other
nation can deliver.
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I don't think we should remove
another dictator with force --
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we learned from Iraq that doing
so makes us responsible
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for all that comes next.
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But a targeted strike can make
Assad, or any other dictator,
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think twice before
using chemical weapons.
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Other questions involve
the dangers of retaliation.
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We don't dismiss any threats,
but the Assad regime does not
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have the ability to seriously
threaten our military.
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Any other retaliation they might
seek is in line with threats
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that we face every day.
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Neither Assad nor his allies
have any interest in escalation
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that would lead to his demise.
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And our ally, Israel, can defend
itself with overwhelming force,
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as well as the
unshakeable support
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of the United States of America.
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Many of you have asked
a broader question:
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Why should we get
involved at all
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in a place that's
so complicated,
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and where -- as one person
wrote to me --
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"those who come after Assad
may be enemies of human rights?"
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It's true that some of Assad's
opponents are extremists.
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But al Qaeda will only draw
strength in a more chaotic Syria
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if people there see the world
doing nothing to prevent
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innocent civilians from
being gassed to death.
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The majority of the
Syrian people --
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and the Syrian opposition
we work with --
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just want to live in peace,
with dignity and freedom.
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And the day after
any military action,
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we would redouble our efforts
to achieve a political solution
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that strengthens those
who reject the forces
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of tyranny and extremism.
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Finally, many of you have asked:
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Why not leave this
to other countries,
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or seek solutions
short of force?
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As several people wrote to me,
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"We should not be the
world's policeman."
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I agree, and I have a
deeply held preference
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for peaceful solutions.
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Over the last two years,
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my administration has
tried diplomacy and sanctions,
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warnings and negotiations --
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but chemical weapons were still
used by the Assad regime.
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However, over the last few days,
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we've seen some
encouraging signs.
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In part because of
the credible threat
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of U.S. military action,
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as well as constructive talks
that I had with President Putin,
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the Russian government
has indicated a willingness
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to join with the international
community in pushing Assad
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to give up his chemical weapons.
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The Assad regime
has now admitted
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that it has these weapons,
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and even said they'd join the
Chemical Weapons Convention,
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which prohibits their use.
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It's too early to tell whether
this offer will succeed,
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and any agreement must
verify that the Assad regime
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keeps its commitments.
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But this initiative has the
potential to remove the threat
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of chemical weapons
without the use of force,
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particularly because Russia is
one of Assad's strongest allies.
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I have, therefore,
asked the leaders of Congress
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to postpone a vote
to authorize the use of force
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while we pursue
this diplomatic path.
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I'm sending
Secretary of State John Kerry
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to meet his
Russian counterpart on Thursday,
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and I will continue
my own discussions
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with President Putin.
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I've spoken to the leaders
of two of our closest allies,
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France and the United Kingdom,
and we will work together
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in consultation with Russia
and China to put forward
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a resolution
at the U.N. Security Council
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requiring Assad to
give up his chemical weapons,
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and to ultimately destroy them
under international control.
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We'll also give
U.N. inspectors the opportunity
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to report their findings about
what happened on August 21st.
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And we will continue
to rally support from allies
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from Europe to the Americas --
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from Asia to the Middle East --
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who agree on
the need for action.
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Meanwhile,
I've ordered our military
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to maintain their
current posture
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to keep the pressure on Assad,
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and to be in a position to
respond if diplomacy fails.
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And tonight,
I give thanks again
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to our military
and their families
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for their incredible
strength and sacrifices.
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My fellow Americans,
for nearly seven decades,
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the United States has been
the anchor of global security.
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This has meant doing more
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than forging
international agreements --
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it has meant enforcing them.
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The burdens of leadership
are often heavy,
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but the world is a better place
because we have borne them.
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And so, to my
friends on the right,
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I ask you to reconcile
your commitment
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to America's military might
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with a failure to act when
a cause is so plainly just.
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To my friends on the left,
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00:13:44,795 --> 00:13:46,328
I ask you to
reconcile your belief
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in freedom and
dignity for all people
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with those images
of children writhing in pain,
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and going still
on a cold hospital floor.
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For sometimes resolutions and
statements of condemnation
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are simply not enough.
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Indeed, I'd ask every
member of Congress,
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and those of you
watching at home tonight,
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to view those videos
of the attack,
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and then ask: What kind
of world will we live in
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if the United States
of America sees a dictator
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brazenly violate international
law with poison gas,
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and we choose to
look the other way?
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Franklin Roosevelt once said,
"Our national determination
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to keep free of foreign wars
and foreign entanglements
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cannot prevent us
from feeling deep concern
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when ideals and principles
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that we have cherished
are challenged."
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Our ideals and principles,
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as well as our
national security,
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00:14:47,227 --> 00:14:51,394
are at stake in Syria,
along with our leadership
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of a world where we seek
to ensure that the worst weapons
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00:14:55,227 --> 00:14:58,428
will never be used.
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00:14:58,428 --> 00:15:01,461
America is not the
world's policeman.
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Terrible things happen
across the globe,
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and it is beyond our means
to right every wrong.
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00:15:08,594 --> 00:15:12,061
But when, with modest
effort and risk,
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we can stop children from
being gassed to death,
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00:15:15,161 --> 00:15:17,127
and thereby make
our own children safer
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00:15:17,127 --> 00:15:19,026
over the long run,
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00:15:19,027 --> 00:15:21,728
I believe we should act.
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That's what makes
America different.
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That's what makes
us exceptional.
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With humility, but with resolve,
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00:15:30,161 --> 00:15:33,960
let us never lose sight
of that essential truth.
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Thank you.
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God bless you.
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And God bless
the United States of America.
