The Dawn Of Diplomacy- U.S Still Seek Further Approval Before Launching Attack On Syria

The majority of the American public (not to mention many in Congress) are adamantly against the United States going to war with Syria over that country's use of chemical weapons against its people.

So when President Obama addressed the nation on Tuesday night in prime time in what was planned as a bid to win public approval for airstrikes against Syria's military, many were surprised when he pivoted in a different direction.

"When dictators commit atrocities, they depend on the world to look the other way," Obama said of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. However, the president repeatedly noted that America is "not the world's policeman," that we cannot resolves someone else's civil war for them and that he would not commit U.S. troops to the ground in Syria.

After evidence came forward that the Assad government used deadly sarin gas on more than 1,000 of its people on August 21, including more than 400 children, Obama said, "what happened to those people, to those children, is not only a violation of international law, it's also a danger to our security."

The president's initial plan was to respond with a targeted military strike aimed at deterring Assad from using chemical weapons and degrading his ability to use them again. But after some positive movement from Syria's ally Russia and indications that the Assad regime might be willing to discuss giving up its weapons stockpile, Obama said he's going to give diplomacy a chance.

"The Assad regime has now admitted it has these weapons, and even said they'd join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits their use," he said. So, for now, the president has asked Congress to vote to authorize use of force as diplomacy continues and work with the United Nations to pass a resolution forcing Assad to give up his chemical weapons.