Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has publicly denied using chemical weapons against his own unarmed civilians in an interview in Damascus just as Congress returns to session tomorrow September 9. Surely deciding on whether or not to intervene in Syria will be first on the Congressional agenda as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has already passed a resolution authorizing the use of military intervention in the war-torn Middle Eastern country. Whether or not it can pass the House of Representatives is very much unsure.
The interview in question was done in Damascus and aired on CBS’s Face the Nation news program, according to Reuters. The President of Syria stated, “There has been no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people” making it abundantly clear that there’s no direct evidence proving that he made the order of using what’s thought to be Sarin nerve gas on the Damascus suburbs killing upwards of 1,400 people including over 400 children.
Interestingly he only denied the evidence, not ordering the strike at all.
His denial comes just as the United States Senate and House of Representatives reconvenes to make a ruling on whether or not it is our country’s responsibility to punish Assad for his crimes against humanity. With the Senate Foreign Relations Committee having drafted their resolution, it appears that chamber of our bicameral legislature could have President Obama’s back for our Commander in Chief is in favor of a limited strike involving placing no soldiers on the ground.
However the Republican-controlled house may not be as easily swayed. Speaker of the House John Boehner has supported the President’s views though it’ll take substantially more than that to sway the House.
It’s unclear when a vote will take place but various polls conducted by news outlets and other statistical groups show various distinct splits on the issue.
Satirical publication The Onion recently suggested sending Congress themselves over to Syria rather than military aid, something the American public is likely to agree on more than anything else.
