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Obama: I might lose congressional vote on Syria
Obama: I might lose congressional vote on Syria (AP) / 10 September 2013 President Barack Obama conceded Monday night he might lose his fight for congressional support of a military strike against Syria, and declined to say what he would do if lawmakers reject his call to back retaliation for a chemical weapons attack last month. The president sought to use a glimmer of a possible diplomatic solution — including vaguely encouraging statements by Russian and Syrian officials on Monday — as fresh reason for Congress to back his plan. Syria welcomed a proposal to turn over all of its chemical weapons to international control. Obama said Syria’s statement was a potentially positive development, but he voiced skepticism about that the regime of President Bashar Al Assad would follow through. He said it was yet another reason for lawmakers to give him the backing he is seeking. He spoke in a series of six television network interviews planned as part of a furious lobbying campaign aimed at winning support from dubious lawmakers and well as a war-weary public. Speaking of Assad’s government, Obama said the credible threat of a military strike led by the United States “has given them pause and makes them consider whether or not they could make this move” to surrender control of their chemical weapons stockpile. “If we don’t maintain and move forward with a credible threat of military pressure, I do not think we will actually get the kind of agreement I would like to see,” Obama said on CNN. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cited “international discussions” in unexpectedly postponing a test vote originally set for Wednesday on Obama’s call for legislation backing a military strike. In a separate interview with NBC, Obama took the step — unusual for any politician — of conceding he may lose his campaign in Congress for authorization. “I wouldn’t say I’m confident” of the outcome, he said. “I think it’s fair to say that I haven’t decided” on a next step if Congress turns its back, the president told NBC. Obama arranged a trip to Congress on Tuesday as well as a prime time speech from the White House. The president picked up a smattering of support but also suffered a reversal when Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican, announced he had switched from a backer of military action to an opponent. Reid, the Senate majority leader, made a statement of support for the president’s request. “Today, many Americans say that these atrocities are none of our business, that they’re not our concern,” the Democrat said of Assad’s alleged gassing of civilians on Aug. 21. “I disagree. Any time the powerful turn such weapons of terror and destruction against the powerless, it is our business.” Others came down on the other side of the question. “I will vote ‘no’ because of too much uncertainly about what comes next,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican, reflecting concerns that even the limited action Obama was contemplating could lead to a wider war. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, also voiced opposition. “I strongly believe that we need the entire world, not just America, to prevent and deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria, or anywhere else on the globe,” she said. In the House of Representatives, one of two female Iraq war veterans in Congress announced opposition to military strikes. Legislation approved in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week would give Obama a maximum of 90 days to carry out a military attack, and it includes a ban on combat operations on the ground in Syria. Both of those limitations were last-minute concessions to critics of a military option, and it was unclear whether Reid would seek additional changes to build support. Despite the difficulty confronting Obama, an AP survey indicated the issue was hardly hopeless for the president, particularly in the Senate where Democrats maintain a majority, and perhaps also in the Republican-controlled House. The survey showed 23 Senate votes in favour of military authorization and 10 more leaning that way. Opponents totalled 20, with another 14 leaning in the same direction, with the remaining 33 senators undecided or publicly uncommitted. That created at least the possibility of the 60-vote majority that will be necessary to advance the bill. In the House, there were fewer than a dozen declared in support and 150 opposed or leaning that way. But 201 lawmakers had yet to take a public position, more than enough to swing the outcome either way. The public opinion polling was daunting for the president and his team. An Associated Press poll showed that 61 percent of those surveyed want Congress to vote against authorization of U.S. military strikes in Syria and 26 percent want lawmakers to support such an action, with the remainder undecided. Continue reading
UAE happiest Arab country
UAE happiest Arab country Staff Reporter / 9 September 2013 The UAE has been ranked the happiest Arab country and the 14th happiest in the world in the second World Happiness Report. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has lauded the achievement, which he described as an approach followed by the founding fathers of the UAE, a vision in all government sectors, levels and institutions ‘‘as well as a manner of work that governs all of our policies and decisions’’. Shaikh Mohammed with students at the Granada School for Primary Education in Al Mazhar area of Dubai on Sunday. Shaikh Mohammed also visited the Al Nokhba (Elite) Model School. The visits to the two schools come within the framework of Shaikh Mohammed’s interest in pursuing excellence in the field of education for UAE students. — Wam “Achieving happiness, welfare and dignified living for nationals and their families is the preoccupation of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This ranking would not have been possible without the efforts of sincere men, excellent teamwork and full coordination and integration between all local and federal government sectors.” A safe and secure environment is one of the main reasons that the UAE has been voted the ‘happiest country’ in the Arab region, according to its residents, who said the UAE is ‘an amazing place to live in’. “Our goal is to achieve the happiness of our people, and their satisfaction is the gauge of our success. All development plans that we approved, all initiatives that we launched and all the government policies and laws, have one common goal — achieving the happiness of our people. What we have already achieved is only the first stage, which will be followed by more work and achievements in order to become one of the world’s best countries God willing,” Shaikh Mohammed said. “Countries can only be built with happy and satisfied people. Happiness of individuals is only the start for a stable, productive and safe society. That is why relevant international organisations started to review the real yardstick for the success of governments and to increasingly focus on measuring the satisfaction and happiness of people as a main way towards sustainable development,” stated Shaikh Mohammed. Underscoring the importance of embracing this yardstick by all government officials, he said: “We gave directives to all government teams, during the recent Government Summit, that they should make their decisions and policies based on one goal, which is making society happy. No doubt happiness and satisfaction is something psychological for individuals, but the government’s mission is to provide dignified living and welfare for its citizens, to make life easy for them as well as to create opportunities for them to achieve happiness for themselves and for their families. All this requires, among other things, joint efforts and policies and laws that are suitable for society, achieving security, justice and safety, taking care of underprivileged groups and the continuous development of infrastructure. This cannot be achieved without having clear-cut plans and excellent teams and taking the best advantage of the resources that are available to us. “We will continue forward to serve our country, achieve happiness for our sons and to invest all that we have to prepare people to make them able, strong, and skilled enough to achieve success. I say to all our people: be hopeful because we all overcame a lot of challenges in the past, and because our present is full of achievements, and our future is promising and is based on the highest ambitions,” said Shaikh Mohammed. Khaleej Times caught up with a few UAE residents who agreed with the results of the report, and cited a safe and secure environment as one of the main reasons for the overall happiness of its people. Indian national and Dubai resident Shehir Rawthar said: “In comparison to neighbouring nations, UAE is a safe haven. People here have steered clear of wars and fights. Even a layman can afford luxury, and that is what makes UAE special.” Pakistani national Victoria Diamond said: “I have lived here all my life and UAE is home to me. There is no other place where I feel safer and happier than I feel here.” Syrian national Khaled Ali said: “My home country is currently in a state of crisis. I have been living here for the last 11 years and I have achieved tremendous career and personal growth living in the UAE. Though I am worried about my brothers and sisters back home, I know my family will be very safe here. Yes, I am happy in the UAE.” “I have been living in the UAE since 2005. Except for very high rents and a slight language problem, it is a great place to live in. It is safe and provides great education for its young. I personally live in a great place, have a good job, and I drive a good car. So if happiness is measured by the kind of commodities that you can acquire, then yes, I am a very happy man,” said British national Nick David. — news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
US: ‘Common-sense test’ holds Assad responsible
US: ‘Common-sense test’ holds Assad responsible (AP) / 9 September 2013 President Barack Obama’s top aide on Sunday pressed the case for “targeted, limited consequential action” to degrade the capabilities of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to carry out chemical weapons attacks as the White House mounted a major push to win support from a divided Congress and skeptical American public for a military strike. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough asserted that a “common-sense test” dictates that the Syrian government is responsible for a chemical weapons attack that Obama says demands a US response. But he said the Obama administration lacks “irrefutable, beyond-a-reasonable-doubt evidence” that lawmakers who will start voting on military action this week are seeking. “This is not a court of law. And intelligence does not work that way,” Denis McDonough said, part of a five-network public relations blitz Sunday to build support for limited strikes against Assad. “The common-sense test says he is responsible for this. He should be held to account,” McDonough said of the Syrian leader who for two years has resisted calls from inside and outside his country to step down. McDonough pressed the case for “targeted, limited consequential action to deter and degrade” the capabilities of Assad’s regime “to carry out these terrible attacks again. The US, citing intelligence reports, says sarin gas was used in the August 21 attack outside Damascus, and that 1,429 people died, including 426 children. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information from a network of anti-regime activists, says it has so far only been able to confirm 502 dead. In an interview on Sunday, Assad told US journalist Charlie Rose there is no conclusive evidence about who is to blame and again suggested the rebels were responsible. From Beirut, Rose described his interview that is set to be released on Monday on television shows hosted by Rose. At the same time, Obama has planned his own public relations effort. He has scheduled five network interviews on Monday and then a nationally televised speech from the White House on Tuesday, the eve of the first votes in Congress. On Wednesday, the Democratic-led Senate is expected to hold the first showdown vote over a resolution that would authorise the “limited and specified use” of US armed forces against Syria for no more than 90 days and barring American ground troops from combat. A final vote is expected at week’s end. A vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives appears likely during the week of September 16. Obama faces a tough audience on Capitol Hill. A survey by The Associated Press shows that House members who are staking out positions are either opposed to or leaning against Obama’s plan for a military strike by more than a 6-1 margin. “Lobbing a few Tomahawk missiles will not restore our credibility overseas,” said Rep. Mike McCaul, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. Added Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a California Democrat: “For the president to say that this is just a very quick thing and we’re out of there, that’s how long wars start.” Nearly half of the 433-member House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate remain undecided, the AP survey found. “Just because Assad is a murderous tyrant doesn’t mean his opponents are any better,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, a conservative Texas Republican. On Saturday, a US official released a DVD compilation of videos showing attack victims that the official said were shown to senators during a classified briefing on Thursday. The images have become a rallying point for the administration. “Those videos make it clear to people that these are real human beings, real children, parents being affected in ways that are unacceptable to anybody, anywhere by any standards,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in Paris. “And the United States of America that has always stood with others to say we will not allow this — this is not our values, it’s not who we are.” But McDonough conceded the United States doesn’t have concrete evidence Assad was behind the chemical attacks. Recent opinion surveys show intense American skepticism about military intervention in Syria, even among those who believe Syria’s government used chemical weapons on its people. Congress, perhaps, is even more dubious. “It’s an uphill slog,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who supports strikes on Assad. “I think it’s very clear he’s lost support in the last week,” Rogers added, speaking of the president. Complicating the effort in the Senate is the possibility that 60 votes may be required to authorise a strike. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said he would consider using Senate procedural maneuvers to delay shutting off debate, but noted such a tactic was unlikely to permanently block a vote. Still, Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, has predicted authorisation of military strike against Syria. While the publicly discussed information lacks a direct link between Assad and the use of chemical weapons, the private briefs are no better, two lawmakers said. “The evidence is not as strong as the public statements that the president and the administration have been making,” said Republican Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. “There are some things that are being embellished in the public statements. … The briefings have actually made me more skeptical about the situation.” Republican Rep. Buck McKeon of California, said “they have evidence showing the regime has probably the responsibility for the attacks.” But that’s not enough to start military strikes. “They haven’t linked it directly to Assad, in my estimation,” said McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. McDonough, an Obama foreign policy adviser dating back to his 2008 presidential campaign, said the dots connect themselves. “The material was used in the eastern suburbs of Damascus that have been controlled by the opposition for some time,” McDonough said. “It was delivered by rockets — rockets which we know the Assad regime has and we have no indication that the opposition has.” At the same time, McDonough acknowledged the risks that military action could drag the US into the middle of a brutal civil war and endanger allies such as Israel with a retaliatory attack. The US is “planning for every contingency in that regard and we’ll be ready for that.” Congress resumes work on Monday after its summer break, but already a heated debate is under way about Syria. Vice-President Joe Biden planned to host a dinner on Sunday night for a group of Senate Republicans. Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, plans to discuss Syria in a speech on Monday at the New America Foundation and later meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. A bipartisan, classified briefing for Congress is set for Monday and another is slated for Wednesday. McDonough spoke with ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’ “Face the Nation,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday.” McCaul and Sanchez were on NBC. Cruz appeared on ABC. Rogers and Amash spoke to CBS. Paul was interviewed on Fox. McKeon was on CNN. Continue reading
