Today Obama Made the World a Much More Dangerous Place

President Obama has delayed what had been considered to be an imminent strike on the al-Assad regime in order to punish it for using chemical weapons on its own civilian citizens. The President abruptly announced Saturday that he will seek congressional approval before launching any military action against Syria. Obama had said Friday that he had decided the United States should take military action and that he believed he had "the authority to carry out sich a military action without specific congressional authorization." But his latest decision pushes back any action against al-Assad until the week of 9 September when Congress is scheduled to return from its summer vacation. The President's decision carries enormous risks to his and America's credibility, which he has argued is on the line. Obama long ago said the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would not be allowed to cross with impunity. British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a humiliating defeat when the House of Commons refused to support his call for military action against Syria. Today's developments are a stunning turnaround in a crisis in which Obama has struggled to gain international support for a strike, while dozens of lawmakers at home urged him to seek their backing. Ordinary Americans are also unhappy with rhe President's stance in Syria. Eighty percent want President Obama to seek approval from Congress before deciding to launch a military attack on Syria, according to a new NBC News poll taken on Wednesday and Thursday this week. An overwhelming 79% of respondents - including nearly 70% of Democrats and 90% of Republicans - say Obama should be required to receive authority from Congress before taking any action against the Syrian regime for its suspected use of chemical weapons. The findings of the poll also reflect the sentiment on Capitol Hill where 140 legislators, including 21 Democrats, have signed a letter saying Obama would violate the Constitution by striking Syria without first getting authorization from Congress. The poll also found that 50% of Americans oppose the US taking military action compared with 42% who support it. Only 21% think taking action is in the national interest, while 33% disagree and 45% don’t know enough to have an opinion. Just 27% say that US military action will improve the situation for Syrian civilians, compared to 41% who say it won’t. At the same time, the public overwhelmingly disapproves of Obama’s handling of the situation in Syria - only 35% approve of the President’s actions. Meanwhile, reaction to Obama's surprise delay was swift and worldwide. In Syria, the al-Assad regime continues to blame rebels for the 21 August chemical attack, and has threatened retaliation if it is attacked. Syrian rebel leaders are obviously disappointed and called pn Obama to mount a more robust attack on al-Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was appealing to a Nobel Peace laureate rather than to a President, urging Obama to reconsider. A group that monitors casualties in the Syrian civil war challenged the US to substantiate its claim that 1,429 died in the chemical attack, including more than 400 children. But, whether Obama was thinking about it or not, the new timetable gives time for UN inspectors to receive lab results from the samples they took during four days in Damascus, and to compile a final report. Republicans expressed satisfaction at Obama's decision, and challenged him to make his case to the public and lawmakers, by sharing his evidence that proves that American power should be used to punish al-Assad. The Israeli military disclosed it has deployed an "Iron Dome" missile defense battery in the Tel Aviv area to protect civilians from any possible missile attack from next-door Syria or any of its allies. Missile defenses were deployed in the northern part of the country several days ago, and large crowds have been gathering at gas mask-distribution centers to pick up protection kits. ~~~~~ Dear readers, today we have seen the face of perfectly incompetent US presidential leadership. Obama has said he has proof that it was al-Assad forces that launched the chemical attack. He has said this represents a national security threat to the United States. He has allowed his Secretary of State to put US credibility on the line over the chemical attack. He has said he has authority to act without cobgressional approval. But today, what can only be described as Obama's psychological incapacity to make decisions won the fight that is constantly waging inside the President. He will let Congress decide -- just as he left it to Congress to draft the Obamacare legislation and settle the debt ceiling crisis. Barack Obama is paralyzed by any need to make critical decisions. And that makes the world a very dangerous place.