President Barack Obama on Friday discussed what course of action the U.S. would take in the event of a resillient Bashar al-Asad, using chemical weapons in Syria even after a “meaninful” missile strike advocated by the administration.
“Is it possible that Assad doubles down in the face of our action and uses chemical weapons more widely? I suppose anything is possible,” Obama told reporters at a G-20 press conference in St. Petersburg. “But it wouldn’t be wise. I think at that point mobilizing the international community would be easier. Not harder. I think it would be pretty hard for the U.N. Security Council at that point to continue to resist the requirement for action and we would gladly join with an international coalition to make sure that it stops.”
“So, you know, one of the biggest concerns of the American people, certain members of Congress may have different concerns, there may be certain members of Congress who say we have got to do even more, or claim to have previously criticized me for not hitting Assad and now are saying they are going to vote no,” he added. “You will have to ask them how they square that circle.”
