Kevin Coriolan | News Editor

On Tuesday night, President Obama again broadcast to the American public his views on the Syrian gas attacks using pathos in his speech appealing to human emotions.

In what could be a last ditch request to get the votes from Congress to target Syria, Obama gave a 15-minute address during prime time to uncover intelligence on Bashar Assad’s regime and its handling of chemical weapons. Obama also used the opportunity to announce that the Congressional vote on using U.S. military force against Syria has been postponed because of the possibility of the removal of Syria’s weapons without force.

President Obama spoke of the more than 1000 killed from chemical attacks in an August 21st attack of Damascus. Hundreds of these were children whose bodies were strewn across the streets and in hospitals. The short address from the President focused on the deaths with much emphasis on those caused by chemical gasses banned by international law.

“On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detail the terrible nature of chemical weapons and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off-limits, a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws of war” President Obama said.

He later asked Congress members and the American public to view the troubling videos showing the Syrian government violating international law.

The main reason for intervening in Syria is to stop future uses of chemicals by political persecutors. “As the ban against these weapons erodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them,” President Obama said. His plan is to not put American soldiers on the ground but rather to target the chemical weapons possessed and allegedly used by the Syrian government.

Recently, the Assad regime admitted to having chemical weapons through a push by its ally in the Russian government. The regime has also joined the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits the use of these weapons. However they deny that they used the weapons in the attack.

The timing of the speech happened to take place the night before the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on American soil. Obama spoke of Americans weariness of war in Iraq and Afghanistan but still pushed that the attack on Syrian weapons would not slide into another war.

Tweet us at @thetack to let us know what you think about the President’s speech.