www.reuters.com
(Reuters)
- President Barack Obama said he has been wrestling with the question whether a
U.S. military intervention in Syria's 22-month-old civil war would help resolve
the bloody conflict or make things worse.
In
a pair of interviews, Obama responded to critics who say the United States has
not been involved enough in Syria, where thousands of people have been killed
and millions displaced according to U.N. officials. Transcripts of both
interviews were released on Sunday.
The
United States has called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and
has recognized an opposition coalition - but has stopped short of authorizing
U.S. arming of rebels to overthrow Assad.
"In
a situation like Syria, I have to ask: can we make a difference in that
situation?" Obama said in an interview with The New Republic published on
the magazine's website.
Obama
said he has to weigh the benefit of a military intervention with the ability of
the Pentagon to support troops still in Afghanistan, where the United States is
withdrawing combat forces after a dozen years of war.
"Could
it trigger even worse violence or the use of chemical weapons? What offers the
best prospect of a stable post-Assad regime?
"And
how do I weigh tens of thousands who've been killed in Syria versus the tens of
thousands who are currently being killed in the Congo?" he said.
Obama's
comments come as world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, said they wished
the United States were more engaged in geopolitical issues such as the
conflicts in Syria and Mali, where France is attacking al Qaeda-affiliated
militants.
Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta said on Saturday that the United States will fly tankers
to refuel French jet fighters, expanding U.S. involvement, which had been
limited to sharing intelligence and providing airlift support.
In
an interview with CBS television program "60 Minutes," Obama bristled
when asked to respond to criticism that the United States has been reluctant to
engage in foreign policy issues like the Syrian crisis.
Obama
said his administration put U.S. warplanes into the international effort to
oust Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and led a push to force Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak from office.
But
in Syria, his administration wants to make sure U.S. action would not backfire,
he said.
"We
do nobody a service when we leap before we look, where we ... take on things
without having thought through all the consequences of it," Obama told
CBS.
"We
are not going to be able to control every aspect of every transition and
transformation" in conflicts around the world, he said. "Sometimes
they're going to go sideways."
(Editing
by Mohammad Zargham)
