President Obama: 'I Will Seek Authorization' from Congress
WASHINGTON, DC
Saturday, August 31, 2013
In a statement from the Rose Garden, Saturday, President Obama said that he will seek Congressional authorization for an air strike on Syrian military targets. He said that the chemical weapons attack could lead to the proliferation of those weapons. "This menace must be confronted," he said.
He said, however, that he was comfortable acting without international support or a U.N. mandate.
The President said he had spoken with the House speaker, House minority leader and the Senate minority and majority leaders and they agreed to hold a debate and vote as soon as Congress returned to session.
The White House is scheduled to hold a conference call, Saturday, to brief Senators. House members will recieve a classified briefing on Sunday.
The Associated Press is reporting that the President is considering requesting Congressional approval before taking any action
WASHINGTON, DC
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
In a statement from the Rose Garden, Saturday, President Obama said that he will seek Congressional authorization for an air strike on Syrian military targets. He said that the chemical weapons attack could lead to the proliferation of those weapons. "This menace must be confronted," he said.
He said, however, that he was comfortable acting without international support or a U.N. mandate.
The President said he had spoken with the House speaker, House minority leader and the Senate minority and majority leaders and they agreed to hold a debate and vote as soon as Congress returned to session.
The White House is scheduled to hold a conference call, Saturday, to brief Senators. House members will recieve a classified briefing on Sunday.
The Associated Press is reporting that the President is considering requesting Congressional approval before taking any action
Even Ron Paul...YES...Ron Paul says it might be a FALSE FLAG.
US Finally Admits What Ron Paul Said: "Nobody Knows Who Set Off The Gas"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/29/2013 12:39 -0400
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-29/us-finally-admits-what-ron-paul-said-nobody-knows-who-launched-chemical-attack
The AP reports that US intelligence officials are admitting that linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack is no "slam dunk," as opposed to Obama (and Kerry) who are 'unequivocal' of the fact.
Via AP,
The intelligence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack is no "slam dunk," with questions remaining about who actually controls some of Syria's chemical weapons stores and doubts about whether Assad himself ordered the strike, U.S. intelligence officials say.
...
an intercept of Syrian military officials discussing the strike was among low-level staff, with no direct evidence tying the attack back to an Assad insider or even a senior Syrian commander, the officials said.
So while Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that links between the attack and the Assad government are "undeniable," U.S. intelligence officials are not so certain that the suspected chemical attack was carried out on Assad's orders, or even completely sure it was carried out by government forces, the officials said.
...
Perhaps more concerning...
Another possibility that officials would hope to rule out: that stocks had fallen out of the government's control and were deployed by rebels in a callous and calculated attempt to draw the West into the war.
"The danger of escalation with Russia is very high," Ron Paul warns in this brief Fox News interview. After casting doubts on the government's 'knowledge' and reasoning in the region, Paul gets straight to the point. Simply put, he notes, despite the ongoing headlines of 'proof' and 'dreadful videos', Paul states "We're not positive who set off the gas," and indeed - who is set to benefit most from any Assad-regime-smackdown? Al-Qaeda.
"Assad is not an idiot," Paul adds, "it's unlikely he would do this on purpose... look how many lies were told to us about Saddam Hussein prior to that build-up." A lot of uncomrtable truths in this brief clip for an administration that has crossed its own red line (as we noted here) on actions against Syria now... "I think it's a false flag..." Paul adds, there is a big risk that "we are getting sucked in" and the American people are against this war
US Finally Admits What Ron Paul Said: "Nobody Knows Who Set Off The Gas"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/29/2013 12:39 -0400
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-29/us-finally-admits-what-ron-paul-said-nobody-knows-who-launched-chemical-attack
The AP reports that US intelligence officials are admitting that linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack is no "slam dunk," as opposed to Obama (and Kerry) who are 'unequivocal' of the fact.
Via AP,
The intelligence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack is no "slam dunk," with questions remaining about who actually controls some of Syria's chemical weapons stores and doubts about whether Assad himself ordered the strike, U.S. intelligence officials say.
...
an intercept of Syrian military officials discussing the strike was among low-level staff, with no direct evidence tying the attack back to an Assad insider or even a senior Syrian commander, the officials said.
So while Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that links between the attack and the Assad government are "undeniable," U.S. intelligence officials are not so certain that the suspected chemical attack was carried out on Assad's orders, or even completely sure it was carried out by government forces, the officials said.
...
Perhaps more concerning...
Another possibility that officials would hope to rule out: that stocks had fallen out of the government's control and were deployed by rebels in a callous and calculated attempt to draw the West into the war.
"The danger of escalation with Russia is very high," Ron Paul warns in this brief Fox News interview. After casting doubts on the government's 'knowledge' and reasoning in the region, Paul gets straight to the point. Simply put, he notes, despite the ongoing headlines of 'proof' and 'dreadful videos', Paul states "We're not positive who set off the gas," and indeed - who is set to benefit most from any Assad-regime-smackdown? Al-Qaeda.
Congress putting the brakes on Obama
by Robert Naiman, Common Dreams …with Press TV
[Editors Note: Dear all, now is the time to grab your telephone pitch forks and get those calls in to the White house, your Congressman and both Senators. Give them congrats or spanking accordingly. They need to be shocked when they get back after Labor Day if they don't get called back anyway. A debate will give us more time to find more holes in their bogus gassing scam and expose them enough to demand an investigation now for treason for 'someone' attempting to launch the country into a military endeavor where their is not threat...Jim W. Dean]
______________________________
By my count, at least 162 Members of the House of Representatives, including 64 Democrats, have done at least one of the following things in the last few days:
1) signed a letter initiated by California Democrat Barbara Lee saying that there must be Congressional debate and vote before war with Syria;
2) signed a letter initiated by Virginia Republican Scott Rigell saying that there must be Congressional debate and vote before war with Syria
3) issued a statement calling for a Congressional debate and vote before war with Syria. I don’t claim that this count is exhaustive. If you know of other examples, please share them in the comments.
By my count, at least 64 Democrats in the House have done at least one of these three things. Add this to the 98 Republicans who signed the Rigell letter and you get 162.
____________________________________
These are the 54 Democratic signers of the Lee letter, according to Lee’s office:
Barbara Lee, Mike Honda, Lois Capps, Zoe Lofgren, John Lewis, Jackie Speier, Ra?l Grijalva, Robin Kelly, Beto O’Rourke, Michael H. Michaud, Mark Pocan, Peter A. DeFazio, Peter Welch, Chellie Pingree, Nydia M. Vel?zquez, Sam Farr, Stephen F. Lynch, Lloyd Doggett, Janice Hahn, Jared Huffman, Tulsi Gabbard, Emanuel Cleaver, Rush Holt, Jim McDermott, Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Suzanne Bonamici, José E. Serrano, George Miller, Donna F. Edwards, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Steve Cohen, Marcy Kaptur, Danny K. Davis, Alcee L. Hastings, James P. McGovern, Judy Chu, Marcia L. Fudge, Alan S. Lowenthal, Charles B. Rangel, Bobby L. Rush, Carolyn B. Maloney, Janice Schakowsky, Donna M. Christensen, David Loebsack, Richard M. Nolan, Henry A. Waxman, Diana DeGette, Yvette D. Clarke, Keith Ellison, Niki Tsongas, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John A. Yarmuth, Julia Brownley.
These are the 18 Democratic signers among the 116 signers of the Rigell letter, as noted by The Hill: Zoe Lofgren, Rush Holt, Beto O’Rourke, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, William Enyart, Tim Walz, Sam Farr, Bruce Braley, Jim McDermott, Michael Capuano, Anna Eshoo, Earl Blumenauer, Peter Welch, Rick Nolan, David Loebsack, Jim Matheson, Collin Peterson.
Sixty-three Democrats signed at least one of the two letters. In addition, New York Democrat Jerry Nadler put out a statement saying that there must be a debate and vote.
Why does this matter? It matters because if President Obama were to strike Syria without Congressional authorization, he would violate the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.
But it also matters because debate surfaces key information. Earlier this week, press was reporting that the U.S. bombing of Syria could start as early as Thursday. By Thursday, here had been no bombing.
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Is the Navy being misused? Have rogue elements
penetrated us again to supply false Intel?
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So while Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that links between the attack and the Assad government are “undeniable,” U.S. intelligence officials are not so certain that the suspected chemical attack was carried out on Assad’s orders, or even completely sure it was carried out by government forces, the officials said.
Ideally, the White House seeks intelligence that links the attack directly to Assad or someone in his inner circle to rule out the possibility that a rogue element of the military decided to use chemical weapons without Assad’s authorization.
Another possibility that officials would hope to rule out: that stocks had fallen out of the government’s control and were deployed by rebels in a callous and calculated attempt to draw the West into the war.
Kerry had said: “We know that the Syrian regime maintains custody of these chemical weapons.”
By Thursday, we knew that what Kerry said on Monday was not true. He said “we know.” But, according the U.S. intelligence officials cited by AP, we don't know.
If the bombing had happened on Thursday, then the bombing would have happened before AP reported that what Kerry said on Monday was not true.
Can people still say with a straight face that Congress shouldn't debate and vote before the President attacks Syria, or that it doesn't matter if they do?
If you think Congress should debate and vote before any war with Syria, you can join 25,000 people at MoveOn.org in telling Congress.
Editing: Jim W. Dean
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