Good afternoon, everybody. Ten days ago, the world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria in the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century. Yesterday the United States presented a powerful case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people. Our intelligence shows the Assad regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets in the highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place. And all of this corroborates what the world can plainly see -- hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead. All told, well over 1,000 people were murdered. Several hundred of them were children -- young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government.
@highlight
Obama calls attack of Syrian civilians 'an assault on human dignity'
@highlight
President spoke with congressional leaders Saturday morning and asked for a vote
@highlight
Obama says he's comfortable going forward without U.N. Security Council approval
@highlight
Obama: 'We're not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else's war.'
In the coming days, my administration stands ready to provide every member with the information they need to understand what happened in Syria and why it has such profound implications for @placeholder's national security.