Labelling Obama "hesitant, disappointed and confused", Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad again denied his regime was behind an alleged poison gas attack on August 21 that precipitated calls for military action. [break]
"We ask the US Congress to show wisdom," Muqdad told reporters in Damascus, in the regime´s first reaction to Obama´s Saturday announcement.
Muqdad also launched a broadside against France, which supports military action against Damascus, accusing its leaders of being "irresponsible" and trying to dupe their own people.
Syria´s opposition for its part expressed disappointment that Obama had put on hold his plans for military action, but said it was confident US lawmakers would green-light a strike.
To general surprise, Obama on Saturday broke with decades of precedent to announce that he would seek approval from Congress for action against Syria´s alleged use of chemical weapons.
This effectively pushed military action back until at least September 9, when US lawmakers return from their summer recess.
Obama insisted that he reserves the right to strike regardless of Congress´s decision, and a White House official said the pause would also allow him time to build international support.
"President Obama was clearly hesitant, disappointed and confused when he spoke yesterday," Muqdad said in his assessment of Obama´s speech.
Muqdad had scathing words for French President Francois Hollande, who supports a military strike on Damascus.
"There is a responsible government in Syria but there is no responsible government in Paris," he said.
"We believe the (French) president and his foreign minister are deceiving the French people to justify the failed policies against Syria, and they will not succeed," he added.
Samir Nashar, a top official of the Syrian National Coalition opposition grouping, expressed "disappointment" at the delay.
"We were expecting things to be quicker, that a strike would be imminent... But we believe Congress will approve a strike," he said.
In a separate statement, the Coalition called on "members of the US Congress to make the right choice and support the administration´s efforts to stop the (Bashar al) Assad killing machine."
Officials said Obama would lobby world powers on the sidelines of the St Petersburg G20 summit next week, while at home the White House was reaching out to lawmakers.
But the toughest battle, and perhaps the most dangerous for Obama´s credibility, may yet be with his own former colleagues in Congress, where support for strikes is far from assured.
Obama´s Democrats control the Senate but the House of Representatives is in the hands of his Republican foes and both sides are divided on the issue, making the outcome uncertain.
Indeed, observers warned that Obama faces the same fate as Prime Minister David Cameron, who on Thursday lost his own vote on authorising military action in the British parliament.
"The chairman of the joint chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose," Obama warned during an address in the White House Rose Garden.
"Our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive. It will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now."
At least five US warships armed with scores of Tomahawk cruise missiles have converged on the eastern Mediterranean ready to launch precision strikes on Syrian regime targets.
The FBI has meanwhile increased its surveillance of Syrians living in the United States ahead of a possible strike and US authorities are also warning of possible retaliatory cyberattacks, The New York Times reported.
A team of UN inspectors spent four days investigating last week´s alleged chemical attacks on suburbs of Damascus.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that analysis of samples taken at the site would take up to three weeks.
A UN spokesman promised they would give a fair report after conducting these lab tests, but Washington and its allies insist they already know all they need to know.
The Obama administration says it has reliable intelligence that the regime launched a chemical onslaught that killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia, a close ally of Syria, branded the claims "utter nonsense" and demanded proof.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis called for the world to unite in a day of fasting and prayer for Syria on Saturday and said "God and history" would judge anyone using chemical weapons.
"May the cry for peace enter the hearts of everyone," the pope told tens of thousands of pilgrims at his traditional weekly blessing on Sunday.
More than 110,000 people have died since the Syrian conflict erupted in March 2011, according to figures released on Sunday by the Syrian Observatory for Human rights.
Related story
Nepalis pray for health and wisdom as coronavirus curtails crow...
-1200x560-1779450784.webp)
