President Obama updated the American people Saturday on the possibility of a military strike in Syria, saying any military action could not come without more thorough investigation into allegations of chemical weapons use.
In an address to the American people on Saturday, Obama gave an update regarding how to proceed in Syria . As he made his address, U.N. inspectors are returning from Syria where they collected evidence on an alleged chemical weapons attack.
“The aim of the game here, the mandate, is very clear — and that is to ascertain whether chemical weapons were used and not by whom,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said on Saturday.
The prospect of military intervention in Syria comes days after the alleged chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against the rebel-controlled neighborhoods in Damascus. The White House released a report on Friday that the August 21 nerve gas attacks killed 1,429 people, including 426 children.
Polls have shown that the American people are wary of military intervention in Syria. A poll from NBC News found that nearly 80 percent of Americans want President Obama to seek approval from Congress before authorizing military strikes.
But the alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus seems to have changed opinions a bit. A survey this week by Ipsos/Reutres found that 53 percent of people oppose intervention in Syria, down from 60 percent the previous week. Support for an attack in Syria rose from 9 percent last week to 20 percent this week.
While President Obama is weighing the prospect of American military action in Syria, in the UK members of Parliament rejected a motion to intervene in the nation’s civil war.