Politics. On Point.

  President Obama made the following statement this weekend on the US-Russia framework for eliminating Syria's chemical weapons.   "I welcome the progress made between the United States and Russia through our talks in Geneva, which represents an important, concrete step toward the goal of moving Syria's chemical weapons under international control so that they may ultimately be destroyed.  This framework provides the opportunity for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons in a transparent, expeditious, and verifiable manner, which could end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but to the region and the world.  The international community expects the Assad regime to live up to its public commitments. While we have made important progress, much more work remains to be done.  The United States will continue working with Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the United Nations and others to ensure that this process is verif...

"I'm ready to act." Speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House this afternoon, President Obama made the case for U.S. intervention in Syria.  "This attack is an assault on human dignity.  It also presents a serious danger to our national security.  It risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons.  It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.  It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons, or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm.   In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted." Congressional members are already in opposition of a strike on Syria. Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) doesn't share the president's views.  Speaking earlier today with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Rangel said he doesn't see where the U.S. is in any real danger, and opposes any action agains...

" Our intelligence sources in the Damascus area did not detect any indications in the  days prior to the attack that opposition affiliates were planning to use chemical weapons." - Senior White House Officials During a White House conference call today with Senior Administration officials, media were given a U.S. government assessment of the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons on August 21, 2013, with two very different accounts. Part of the Assessment indicates that US intelligence was unaware of the planned attacks on Syria. " Our intelligence sources in the Damascus area did not detect any indications in the  days prior to the attack that opposition affiliates were planning to use chemical weapons."   Another portion of the Assessment makes the claim that the US did have intelligence, indicating that Syrian forces were preparing chemical munitions prior to the August 21st attack. " We have intelligence that leads us to assess tha...