--- title: Barack Obama Cites 2013 Syria Decision As Most Courageous description: Obama said not bombing Syria in 2013 following reports of Assad using chemical gas required the most courage during his presidency. canonical: https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-17T15:47:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:02:54.639Z article:section: Politics og:title: Barack Obama Says His Most 'Courageous' Decision Was Not Bombing Syria og:description: "99 percent of huge chemical weapons stockpiled were removed." og:url: https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18e057934d31c79/6988cc860a4a2208c59ce16a/barack-obama-food-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Barack Obama Receives Kennedy Profile In Courage Award og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Barack Obama Says His Most 'Courageous' Decision Was Not Bombing Syria twitter:description: "99 percent of huge chemical weapons stockpiled were removed." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18e057934d31c79/6988cc860a4a2208c59ce16a/barack-obama-food-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Barack Obama Says His Most 'Courageous' Decision Was Not Bombing Syria > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=168db884-9aea-4545-ac08-7e3be23f63b6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Obama's 2013 Syria Speech in 3 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Obama's 2013 Syria Speech in 3 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1L3rPr0z.m3u8) (2:56)  _Published 2013-09-11. Watch highlights of President Obama's address on Syria._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson May 17, 2017 3:47 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson May 17, 2017 3:47 PM UTC [Former President Obama](http://time.com/4772781/barack-obama-italy-politicians-you-deserve/) cited his decision not to bomb Syria in 2013 following confirmation that President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical gas as the one that required the most courage during his presidency. “I actually think that the issue that required the most political courage was the decision not to bomb Syria after the chemical weapons use had been publicized and rather to negotiate them removing chemical weapons from Syria,” [he told Jack Schlossberg,](https://medium.com/@JFKLibrary/a-conversation-with-president-obama-on-political-courage-7c099573313e) the grandson of John F. Kennedy, the day he received the Profile in Courage award from the Kennedy Presidential Library. Obama explained that Presidents are often praised for taking military action and criticized for refraining from it. Obama had [said in 2012 ](http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/25/six-times-the-white-house-discussed-the-syria-red-line/?iid=sr-link1)that the “red line” for military action against Syria would be the use of chemical weapons, which the [White House confirmed ](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/30/government-assessment-syrian-government-s-use-chemical-weapons-august-21)Assad used one year later. “It was an imperfect solution,” Obama conceded to Schlossberg. “But what we also know is that 99 percent of huge chemical weapons stockpiled were removed without us having to fire a shot.” Obama’s remarks come a little over one month after President Trump made the decision to launch [59 Tomahawk missiles](http://time.com/4730231/us-missile-airstrike-attack-syria-donald-trump-bashar-assad/?iid=sr-link3) at a Syrian air base after a chemical attack in the country that killed over 70 people, including children. ## Transcript No one disputes that chemical weapons were used in Syria. The world saw thousands of videos, cell phone pictures, and social media accounts from the attack. Moreover, we know the Assad regime was responsible. In the days leading up to August 21st, we know that Assad's chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix Sarin gas. They distributed gas masks to their troops. Then they fired rockets from a regime controlled area into 11 neighborhoods that the regime has been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces. We know senior figures in Assad's military machine reviewed the results of the attack. And the regime increased their shelling of the same neighborhoods in the days that followed. We've also studied samples of blood and hair from people at the site that tested positive for sarin. If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. As the ban against these weapons erodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas, and using them. Over time, our troops would again face the prospect of chemical warfare on the battlefield, and it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons. And a failure to stand against the use of chemical weapons would weaken prohibitions against other weapons of mass destruction, and embolden Assad's ally, Iran. Which must decide whether to ignore international law by building a nuclear weapon or to take a more peaceful path. I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria. I will not pursue an open ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan. I will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo. This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective: deterring the use of chemical weapons and degrading Assad's capabilities, in part because of the credible threat of U. S. military action. As well as constructive talks that I had with President Putin, the Russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the international community in pushing Assad to give up his chemical weapons. It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad Regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force. I have therefore asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. America's not the world's policeman, but when with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/"},"headline":"Barack Obama Says His Most 'Courageous' Decision Was Not Bombing Syria","datePublished":"2017-05-17T15:47:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:02:54.639Z","description":"\"99 percent of huge chemical weapons stockpiled were removed without us having to fire a shot.\"","url":"https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/","keywords":["Syria","Barack Obama","History","White House","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18e057934d31c79/6988cc860a4a2208c59ce16a/barack-obama-food-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd18e057934d31c79/6988cc860a4a2208c59ce16a/barack-obama-food-security.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama Receives Kennedy Profile In Courage Award","caption":"Barack Obama Receives Kennedy Profile In Courage Award","creditText":"Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/syria/","name":"Syria"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/","name":"Barack Obama Says His Most 'Courageous' Decision Was Not Bombing Syria"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Obama's 2013 Syria Speech in 3 Minutes","description":"Watch highlights of President Obama's address on Syria.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/1L3rPr0z/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-09-11T03:59:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1L3rPr0z.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/","duration":"PT2M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4782309/barack-obama-syria-2013-chemical-weapons/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```