President Barack Obama meets with his national security advisers in the White House Situation Room on Saturday to discuss strategy in Syria. Chief of Staff Denis McDonough is fourth from right. Pete Souza/White House
The White House Walk-And-Talk That Changed Obama's Mind On Syria -- NBC
A stroll around the White House grounds with his top adviser on Friday evening changed President Barack Obama’s mind about getting Congress to sign off on a military strike in Syria, senior White House officials told NBC News.
Obama had been leaning toward attacking Syria without a congressional vote for the past week, the officials said. Obama was convinced he had the evidence to back up a strike and as a result dispatched Secretary of State John Kerry to make a passionate case for U.S. action. But only hours after Kerry called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "a thug and a murderer" and accused his regime of using chemical weapons to kill 1,429 people, Obama changed his mind as he walked across the South Lawn with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, the officials said.
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More News On How President Obama Came To His Decision On Delaying A Syrian Military Strike And Seeking Congressional Approval
Obama's last-minute decision to seek congressional approval for Syria strike -- CNN
Obama's Syria decision: a walk, a debate, and a new approach -- Reuters
At the Last Minute, Obama Alone Made Call to Seek Congressional Approval -- Wall Street Journal
After soul searching, Obama blinks on Syria -- AFP
Obama surprised top aides with last minute change of heart on Syria -- Jerusalem Post
My Comment: I suspect that it was during this walk that he first started to truly realized what would have been the consequences and repercussions .... both at home and internationally .... if he had ordered such a military strike. With the exception of France .... no one in the international community wants to have Syrian blood on their hands .... and opposition in the U.N. to such a military engagement is almost universal. Attacking Syria would have also crossed the red lines that Russia has imposed .... thereby ruining U.S. - Russian relations for the next few years. After criticizing President Bush for years on how he conducted war policy .... he would be doing the same thing minus the Congressional approval and the support of dozens of countries that President Bush was successful in putting together .... a prospect that I am sure he finds distasteful. No one in the Pentagon is enthusiastic about such a strike .... they see it for what it is .... an attack that is too small and too inconsequential to have a real impact on the ground .... and as a result the perception will be that he ordered such a strike to "save face". Blow-back in the form of terrorism is a real possibility .... something that I am sure is on the top of his agenda everyday. But bottom line .... the real reason why he stepped back was the realization that politically there is no support in the American public for such a war. If he had ordered such a strike and the outcome was a regional war .... Democrat election prospects and his legacy will be stuck in the mud for years.
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