Surveys have found Americans generally support military action to stop genocide, but the 2013 debate laid bare the public's hesitation about forcefully punishing Syria for using chemical weapons. And despite Obama's public endorsement of using military action, the opposition crossed party lines. (This turned out to be prescient; Syria ultimately agreed to turn its chemical weapons over but apparently did not completely do so.) Obama's approval was at a higher 47 percent in Post-ABC polling after he unsuccessfully argued in favor of military strikes. In 2013, 98 House Republicans signed a letter warning Obama that he needed congressional approval if he wanted to launch military strikes in Syria.)

Source: Washington Post April 07, 2017 19:19 UTC