‘We tried diplomacy for 2 years’: Obama on striking Syria  by
Sep 11, 2013  US President Barack Obama, addressing the nation
on action against Syria, said that a key vote on whether or not
to take action against the country would be postponed while they
explored new avenues of diplomatic action in the light of
Syria's new commitments to put their stock of chemical weapons
under international control and sign an international treaty
prohibiting the use of chemical weapons in warfare.    Obama
justified his decision to engage in limited strikes against
Syria, saying that although he only planned limited and
controlled strikes, it would send a strong message to dictators
like Assad, that the US would not tolerate the use of chemical
weapons.  He added that the US had tried to use diplomatic means
for two years, from santions to dialogue, but Assad had gone
ahead and used chemical weapons anyway".  He also replied to a
number of criticisms and questions that he had received on
Syria, including the fact that this