Obama Says He Hasn't Made Final Decision On Syria Attack

Obama Says He Hasn't Made Final Decision On Syria Attack

President Barack Obama said he has not made a final decision on a Syria attack.

Obama said he is considering a "limited narrow act," and called a Syria chemical weapons attack a "challenge to the world," according to Reuters.

"We're not considering any open ended commitment. We're not considering any boots on the ground approach," Obama said, according to White House pool reports.

"We have consulted with allies. We have consulted with Congress," Obama said.

Obama said there "is a certain weariness, given Afghanistan" but said the U.S. can't ignore when people are killed by chemical weapons.

"It’s important for us to recognize that when over a thousand people are killed, including hundreds of innocent children, through the use of a weapon that 98 or 99 percent of humanity says should not be used even in war, and there is no action, then we’re sending a signal... that is a danger to our national security," Obama said, according to the pool report.

“We are confident that we can provide Congress all the information and get all the input they need. We're very mindful of that," Obama said. "But ultimately we don’t want the world to be paralyzed... A lot of people think something should be done but nobody wants to do it.”

Below, more on the story from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he hasn't made a final decision about a military strike against Syria. But he says he's considering a limited and narrow action in response to a chemical weapons attack that he says Syria's government carried out last week.

Obama says that attack was a challenge to the world and threatens U.S. national security.

Obama's comment came after the U.S. released an intelligence assessment that found with "high confidence" that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government carried out a chemical weapons attack last week.

The U.S. says the attack killed more than 1,400 people.

Obama spoke before meeting at the White House with three Baltic leaders.

This story has been updated with more information from the AP and quotes from Obama.

Before You Go

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