President Barack Obama announced Saturday he will seek congressional approval before launching any kind of military action on Syria, in hopes of punishing the Bashar al-Assad regime for its chemical weapons attack two weeks ago that killed hundreds over 1,400 people, including 426 children, the Associated Press.
For over a week, many analysts had foreseen an imminent attack by the U.S., as Navy ships were held on standby in the Mediterranean Sea ready to launch their cruise missiles. Instead, the U.S. President decided to enable the House of Representatives and the Senate to vote on whether the evidence presented will constitute the rationale to attack the regime. He reportedly changed his mind late Friday night, according to a report from NBC News
"I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective," Obama said.
Congress is scheduled to return from summer vacation the week of September 9.
"I hope and pray it will be seen as careful deliberation, as an appropriate exercise of American constitutional process," Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday. "The United States is strongest when the Congress speaks with the President, when the American people are invested, and we had inappropriate vetting of all the facts."
Over a year ago, the U.S. President said that the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" that Assad would not be allowed to cross with impunity.
However, Assad reportedly used chemical weapons over a dozen times against the opposition during the Syrian Civil War, news reports said.
"We are glad the president is seeking authorization for any military action in Syria in response to serious, substantive questions being raised," House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other House Republican leaders said in a joint statement.
New York Republican Representative Peter King disagreed, saying, "President Obama is abdicating his responsibility as commander in chief and undermining the authority of future presidents. The president doesn't need 535 Members of Congress to enforce his own red line."
Obama said he was considering "limited and narrow" steps to punish Assad, adding that U.S. national security interests were at stake, the AP reported.
