Obama rules out military strikes on Syria

Rasa - US President Barack Obama has emphasized that American troops have reached their limits following long deployments in wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and that US military strikes on Syria would not stop the humanitarian crisis in that nation.

News ID: 731

Date: 29 March 2014 - 10:30

Rasa News Agency reports - Obama made the remarks during a Friday interview with US-based CBS Evening News when he was asked whether he regretted not applying American military force in Syria, where the three-year insurgency war has killed an estimated 140,000 people and displaced millions.

"It is, I think, a false notion that somehow we were in a position to, through a few selective strikes, prevent the kind of hardship that we've seen in Syria," Obama said.

"It's not that it's not worth it. It's after a decade of war, you know, the United States has limits," he said.

Obama said the United States would have a hard time committing to putting troops on the ground in Syria, a commitment that he said could have lasted "perhaps another decade."

American troops have been involved in a decade of wars that Washington initiated in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"And it's not clear whether the outcome in fact would have turned out significantly better," Obama added.

The interview was recorded before Obama flew to Saudi Arabia, where he discussed the Syrian conflict with Saudi ruler King Abdullah.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

According to press reports, an estimated 130,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for nearly three years.

Alalam