Outlining his decision in a nationally televised address, the president said the United States and the world “faced a choice” when confronted with a dictator bent on killing his own citizens.
“We knew that if we waited one more day, Benghazi — a city nearly the size of Charlotte — could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world,” Obama said. “It was not in our national interest to let that happen. I refused to let that happen.”
Obama’s remarks were aimed at the American public as it tires of ongoing war on two other fronts and begins to voice skepticism about the wisdom of the airstrikes.
At its heart, Obama’s message for Americans was a simple one. The U.S. will send no ground troops. It will not lay a new burden on taxpayers, but rather will absorb the cost of the effort in current Pentagon budget restraints.
The address also was designed to respond to criticism — especially from Republicans — that Obama hasn’t explained the goals for U.S. involvement sufficiently.
Reaction to the speech in Congress tended to break along partisan lines, with Republicans faulting the president for what they said was his failure to define the mission clearly.
“When our men and women in uniform are sent into harm’s way, Americans and troops deserve a clear mission from our commander in chief, not a speech nine days late,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Armed Services Committee.