President Obama
on Monday took a sharp turn away from his "red line" threat to Syria
on the eve of taking his case to the American people, saying in an interview
with Fox News that he's open to negotiations on an alternative plan that could
avert a military strike.
The president was
responding to a proposal, formally put forward by the Russians, to have the
Assad regime turn over its chemical weapons to international control.
Additionally,
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid decided to postpone a test vote on the
Syria resolution -- which had tentatively been expected on Wednesday -- amid
the international negotiations.
"We will
pursue this diplomatic track," Obama told Fox News. "I fervently hope
that this can be resolved in a non-military way."
The president,
while saying his advisers would "run to ground" that proposal,
indicated he still wants Congress to debate a resolution to authorize a strike
against Syria. "I think it is important for us not to let the pedal off
the metal when it comes to making sure they understand we mean what we
say," Obama said.
But the
president's decision to pursue the diplomatic track is a departure from his
decision more than a week ago to pursue a military strike. And it could bring
the temperature down a notch in the ongoing stand-off between his
administration and the Assad government.
The president's
comments come after a proposal to have the Syrian government relinquish control
of its stockpile quickly caught fire in the international community and in Washington.
Secretary of
State John Kerry touched off the discussion with an off-hand remark that Syria
could only avert military action if it turned over its weapons within a
week.
Kerry and his
aides afterward claimed the secretary was merely making a "rhetorical"
point. But Russia's foreign minister formally proposed the idea to Syria, and
the Assad government said it welcomed the plan.
As the United
Nations secretary-general and several U.S. allies gravitated toward the
proposal, the Obama administration conceded that it would seriously consider
it.
Obama went
further in his interview with Fox News.
"I welcome
the possibility of the development," he said. "We should explore and
exhaust all avenues of diplomatic resolution to this."
He said the U.S. should
be able to get a "fairly rapid sense" of how serious the proposal is.
"We are going to be immediately talking to the Russians and looking for
some actual language they might be proposing," he said.
But Obama said
it's important to "keep the pressure on." Roughly quoting the late
President Ronald Reagan, he said: "It's not enough just to trust. I think
we're going to have to verify."
The president
said the idea of negotiating this kind of solution is "something that is
not new."
The president
also brushed off comments made earlier by Bashar Assad in which he threatened
that there could be "repercussions" if the U.S. attacks.
Assad's military
capabilities are "not significant relative to the U.S. military,"
Obama said.
The interview
comes as Obama prepares to address the nation from the White House on Tuesday
night -- as national polling shows Americans are increasingly opposed to U.S.
military action in that country's civil war.
A new Fox News
Poll shows that public disapproval of Obama's handling of Syria has jumped from
40 percent to 60 percent. It also found just 36 percent favor using force to
punish Syria for using chemical weapons; 61 percent oppose taking that
step.
"Right now,
the American people are not persuaded," Obama acknowledged. "Right
now, members of Congress who are just getting back still have
questions."
With the proposal
so unpopular in the polls, Obama is having a difficult time selling the idea of
a strike to Congress. A Senate test vote could still be held later this week, but
the White House is struggling to corral the 60 votes that likely will be
necessary to advance it.
The
administration faces an even tougher time in the Republican-controlled
House.
Obama stressed in
the interview that the situation in Syria is "difficult," but the
U.S. was looking at taking action because chemical weapons -- which the
administration accuses the Assad regime of using -- are
"indiscriminate." But he also said he understands Americans'
skepticism over U.S. involvement.
"The
American people are right not to want to have us entangled in a sectarian civil
war inside of Syria," he said.
