INTERNATIONAL
Key quotes from Obama speech on Syria
The following are key quotes from the speech given Tuesday by US President Barack Obama on the situation in Syria, in which he pledged to give long-shot diplomacy a chance:
A CHANGED SITUATION
"The situation profoundly changed, though, on August 21st, when Assad's government gassed to death over a thousand people, including hundreds of children.
"The images from this massacre are sickening: Men, women, children lying in rows, killed by poison gas. Others foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath. A father clutching his dead children, imploring them to get up and walk."
RESPONSIBILITY
"We know the Assad regime was responsible."
"When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied.
"The question now is what the United States of America, and the international community, is prepared to do about it. Because what happened to those people -- to those children -- is not only a violation of international law, it's also a danger to our security."
POSSIBILITY OF US STRIKES
"I know that after the terrible toll of Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of any military action, no matter how limited, is not going to be popular. After all, I've spent four and a half years working to end wars, not to start them."
"The United States military doesn't do pinpricks. Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver.
"I don't think we should remove another dictator with force -- we learned from Iraq that doing so makes us responsible for all that comes next. But a targeted strike can make Assad, or any other dictator, think twice before using chemical weapons."
RUSSIAN PLAN
"It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments.
"But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad's strongest allies.
"I have, therefore, asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path."
A CHANGED SITUATION
"The situation profoundly changed, though, on August 21st, when Assad's government gassed to death over a thousand people, including hundreds of children.
"The images from this massacre are sickening: Men, women, children lying in rows, killed by poison gas. Others foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath. A father clutching his dead children, imploring them to get up and walk."
RESPONSIBILITY
"We know the Assad regime was responsible."
"When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied.
"The question now is what the United States of America, and the international community, is prepared to do about it. Because what happened to those people -- to those children -- is not only a violation of international law, it's also a danger to our security."
POSSIBILITY OF US STRIKES
"I know that after the terrible toll of Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of any military action, no matter how limited, is not going to be popular. After all, I've spent four and a half years working to end wars, not to start them."
"The United States military doesn't do pinpricks. Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver.
"I don't think we should remove another dictator with force -- we learned from Iraq that doing so makes us responsible for all that comes next. But a targeted strike can make Assad, or any other dictator, think twice before using chemical weapons."
RUSSIAN PLAN
"It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments.
"But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad's strongest allies.
"I have, therefore, asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path."