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Boehner demands more information from Obama on Syria attack

Iran Press TV

Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:53PM GMT

US House Speaker John Boehner has sent a letter to President Barack Obama demanding for more information about a potential US attack on Syria.

On Wednesday, Obama said Washington has “concluded” that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in an attack on civilians last week.

While Obama did not present any evidence to support his claim, he said that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should face “international consequences.”

In his letter sent to Obama on Wednesday, Boehner said he agreed with Obama’s statement last year that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be “a red line” for Washington and insisted that the US president offer a clear plan of action for a potential US attack on Syria.

“Now, having again determined your red line has been crossed, should a decisive response involve the use of the United States military, it is essential that you provide a clear, unambiguous explanation of how military action - which is a means, not a policy - will secure U.S. objectives and how it fits into your overall policy,” said Boehner in his letter.

The Syrian government has categorically rejected the allegations that it had any role in the chemical attack.

Moreover, Obama’s assertion that Washington “concluded” Damascus used chemical weapons comes before a UN inspector team, which is in Syria at the invitation of Damascus, releases its findings over last week’s deadly chemical weapons attack near the Syrian capital.

On Wednesday, a senior Obama administration official told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that the White House is considering more than a single set of military action and "the options are not limited just to one day" of strikes.

Meanwhile, Obama told PBS NewsHour Wednesday that he favored a “tailored, limited” strike against Syria.

Former outspoken Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich has indicated that Obama would be violating the US Constitution if he does not get congressional approval before taking any military action against Syria.

Kucinich, who voted against the Iraq war, also said that airstrikes on Syria would turn the US military into “al-Qaeda's air force.”

ISH/ISH