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Obama to seek Congress vote on Syria military action

Other News Materials 31 August 2013 23:31 (UTC +04:00)
President Barack Obama says the US should take military action against Syria and he will seek congressional authorisation for intervention, BBC reported.
Obama to seek Congress vote on Syria military action

President Barack Obama says the US should take military action against Syria and he will seek congressional authorisation for intervention, BBC reported.

The US says the Syrian government carried out chemical weapons attacks on 21 August in which 1,429 people died.

Mr Obama said the operation would be limited in duration and strong to deter future chemical attacks. Congress is due to re-open on 9 September.

The Syrian government denies it was behind the attacks and blames rebels.

UN inspectors have now left Syria with samples from site visits, which will go to laboratories in Europe for testing.

President Obama said the military operation could happen tomorrow, next week or in the near future.

"We cannot and will not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus," he said.

As commander-in-chief, Mr Obama has the constitutional authority to order military action without the backing of Congress.

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