Discussion about what, if anything, the United States should do with regard to Syria continues. President Barack Obama addressed the nation last night where he outlined his thought process about the situation. Congressman Donald Payne Jr. told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that he applauded Obama for his address, but is still undecided about the U.S. taking military action against Syria.
Payne said he met with Obama earlier in the week, along with the Congressional Black Caucus and Susan Rice. Payne said they had a classified conversation about how Obama viewed the situation. “I was very delighted to see him come to the American people and state his case,” he said.
Although Payne was pleased with Obama’s address, he said he’s undecided about authorizing military force against Syria. “We are continuing to gather and get information but I’m really delighted that the third option has opened. And that is the path that I feel is the way to go. Peace and removing these weapons from Assad’s hands is the way to go. And we need to continue to work on a peaceful solution to this issue,” he said.
Some say the U.S. can’t trust Syrian government to hand over chemical weapons or Russian President Vladimir Putin to do what he’s promising. Payne said Putin doesn’t want to lose Syrian President Bashar al Assad as the dictator and this plan gives him an opportunity to keep Assad in his position but also get rid of the weapons.
“It’s a common interest for the United States and Russia to make sure that these weapons do not fall in hands of terrorists. They have issues with terrorists and so do we. So we have a common interest in this. And I think that’s where the opening lies and we’re gonna go down that road,” Payne said.