Syria Mission — Days of Decision
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 9 September 2013
by Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (link to
original)
The coming days will determine the future of President Obama — that is what the pundits and the sensationalists predict. In fact, the president and his people are fighting a tough war on several fronts. They may already regret waging it and hope to avoid its escalation.
However, no one will help them get out of this situation, let alone the dictator in Damascus. If Congress were to reject Obama’s intended attack on the facilities of the Syrian regime in response to Syria’s alleged use of poison gas, the president and congressional leadership would be making fools of themselves in an unprecedented manner — in their own country and on the world stage.
U.S. President Barack Obama is pulling out all the stops of political persuasion because he knows that the United States and himself are politically at risk. The European partners have just experienced his resolve. Who would have thought that this final decision on Syria would determine Obama's presidency? It is, in any case, his ultimate test.
However, no one will help them get out of this situation, let alone the dictator in Damascus. If Congress were to reject Obama’s intended attack on the facilities of the Syrian regime in response to Syria’s alleged use of poison gas, the president and congressional leadership would be making fools of themselves in an unprecedented manner — in their own country and on the world stage.
U.S. President Barack Obama is pulling out all the stops of political persuasion because he knows that the United States and himself are politically at risk. The European partners have just experienced his resolve. Who would have thought that this final decision on Syria would determine Obama's presidency? It is, in any case, his ultimate test.