Barack Obama is standing fast in his outrage for Syria’s chemical attacks, and is wielding U.S. military might with a firm grip.

In a public address this Wednesday set in Stockholm, Sweden, Obama laid out his rationale for the necessity of military force in Syria, arguing to the international community that inaction will lead to the erosion of international norms and the emboldening of other “despots and authoritarian regimes.”

Obama expressed that it was still under his power to carry out the Syrian attacks in the name of international norms, regardless of Congress' or the United Nation's support.

“The people of Europe are certainly familiar with what happens when the international community finds excuses not to act,” said America’s commander-in-chief, invoking memories of WWII.

Last year, President Obama made it clear that his foreign policy towards Syria would change drastically in the face of chemical weapons use, declaring it a “red line” that could never be crossed.

He has kept true to his word, and even in the face of mounting criticism, Obama defends himself by challenging the credibility of the international community: “I didn’t set a red line. The world set a red line.”

“The world set a red line when governments representing 98 percent of the world’s population said the use of chemical weapons are abhorrent and passed a treaty forbidding their use, even when countries are engaged in war,” Obama added.

In his address, Obama reassured the international community that the attack on Syria will not get out of hand, and that the United States’ only goal in Syria is to degrade President Bashar al-Assad’s capabilities and deterring the further use of chemical weapons. 

Obama directly stated that the Aug. 21 chemical attack, which killed 1,400 people in the suburbs of Damascus, was executed on Bashar al-Assad’s orders.

“We believe very strongly with high confidence that in fact chemical weapons were used and that Mr. Assad was the source,” said the president.

The Syrian government is known to have stockpiles of weaponized chemical agents including sarin gas, the chemical detected at the Damascus tragedy.

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