Talking about Syria this morning, President Obama argued to reporters, “My credibility is not on the line. The international community’s credibility is on the line, and America and Congress’s credibility is on the line because we give lip service to the notion that these international norms are important.” Congress, he argued, signed a treaty banning the use of chemical weapons and therefore ought to enforce it (though that treaty doesn’t include provisions for using force against violators).
“I didn’t set a red line, the world set a red line,” he said.
At a press briefing in Stockholm this morning, President Obama and the Swedish prime minister both called for more international cooperation regarding Syria, though Sweden will not join the U.S. in military action. Yesterday, Sweden announced that it will offer residency to all Syrian refugees seeking asylum in the country.
Obama is in Sweden on the first part of his three-day long trip to Europe, which will culminate in a G-20 summit beginning tomorrow in St. Petersburg.
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