Obama's Address on Syria

In his national address regarding the current Syrian crisis, President Barack Obama emphasizes that a failure to act militarily will only promote further use of chemical warfare, not only by Assad’s regime, but also “other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them.” He fears that this use of chemical weapons will spread to countries bordering Syria, such as Turkey and Jordan. Another concern of the nation failing to act, according to Obama, is the possible threat of Iran also ignoring international contracts regarding nuclear weapons.

According to a CNN/ORC International survey, the address was not very successful in persuading viewers to change their attitudes on whether or not U.S. military involvement in Syria would benefit the United States. Before the speech, 30% of viewers answered yes, with the number only increasing to 36% afterwards.

When asked if the speech changed their opinion on the topic, 52% answered no, but another 52% admitted that they were now more confident with Obama’s leadership on military issues, following the address.