WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama has ordered the U.S. military to maintain its current posture to keep the pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime should diplomacy fail.
In his televised address Tuesday night, the president outlined his plans to respond to the use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb last month that the U.S. says killed more than 1,400 people. Obama says he's working closely with world leaders.
He says he's continuing discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while dispatching Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with his Russian counterpart on Thursday. Obama also says he's speaking with leaders of France and Britain and will work with Russia and China to put forward a resolution at the United Nations Security Council requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons.
