Syria+2013

=Syria 2013=

Extended one week as Congress comes back into session to debate and vote on intervention and President Obama is scheduled to address the nation on Tuesday, Septeber 10th.

As with the previous discussion on MLK, Annenberg Speakout has posted a national discussion board on this topic. The question focuses on whether or not the president needs the authorization of Congress to order military strikes. Here is a link to that national discussion. Posting there- and copying that post to our discussion will earn you double points.

Annenberg Link: **Does the president need Congress' appeal to use force in Syria?**

Syria has been a state of Civil War for over 2 years. Over 100,000 Civilian casualties have been reported, and millions have been displaced both within Syria and across borders to refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. On August 21st, a chemical weapons strike on Civilians in the suburbs of Damascus killed over 1000 men, women, and children. While the UN investigates to confirm responsibility, President Obama has addressed the nation and is requesting that Congress vote to authorize the use of force against the Assad government as a consequence for it's use of chemical weapons against civilians. U.S. intelligence pins the attack on the Assad government. International Treaties including the Geneva Conventions forbid the use of chemical weapons.

If the U.S. strikes, President Obama has asserted that attacks would be specific, limited, and not involve any "boots on the ground". U.S. naval forces are in position to carry out an order to strike if authorized. Congress is due to return to session on September 9th. The British Parliament voted against a military strike. France has promised to support any U.S. action. Our allies in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and others have urged U.S. action. The UN Security council is unlikely to authorize any use of force due to objections from Russia which is a strong ally of the Syrian Government.

//**What do you think the U.S. should do in these circumstances? What can we do? Is doing nothing an option?**//

Here is a link to the text of President Obama's address to the nation: Presidential Address on Syria

Here is a link to the text of the bill to authorize force that President Obama gave to Speaker of the House John Boehner to introduce to the House of Representatives.

Authorization of Force Bill

Here are links to further reports about the situation in Syria.

BBC- Syria Chemical Attacks: Here's What We Know

UNHCR- A Million Syrian Children are Now Refugees