Obama's Syria retreat   What does military backtrack mean for president?
Channel: Newsabout america
Date: 2013-09-22

PAUL GIGOT, HOST: This week on the "Journal Editorial Report," President Obama stands down. A look at what his Syria retreat means for his standing in the world and America's.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: This initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad's strongest allies. I have, therefore, asked the leaders of Congress to postpone vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIGOT: Welcome to the "Journal Editorial Report." I'm Paul Gigot.
That was President Obama Tuesday announcing that he would explore a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria, mediated by the Russians before moving ahead on a congressional vote on the use of force. But after weeks of his administration urging military action against the government of Bashar al-Assad, what does this retreat mean for the president's standing in the world and America's standing?
Let's ask Wall Street Journal columnist and deputy, Dan Henninger; Washington columnist, Kim Strassel; and foreign affairs columnist, Bret Stephens.
Dan, you described this this week as the Laurel-and-Hardy presidency - -
(LAUGHTER)
Not kind words. How would you sum up this week?
DAN HENNINGER, COLUMNIST & DEPUTY EDITOR: The Laurel-and-Hardy presidency. Beyond that, I would say it's been really a presidency bouncing off the walls. Barack Obama, we just heard him say has now proposed if they dispose of Assad's chemical weapons, then we will have that problem behind us. One has to wonder who exactly he consulted on this subject. Chemical weapons are one of the most -- acting as though these are boxes of books in Assad's library.