Damascus press hails ‘historic US retreat’

BEIRUT: Syria hailed an “historic American retreat” on Sunday, mockingly accusing President Barack Obama of hesitation and confusion after he delayed a military strike to consult Congress.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said tests showed Damascus had used using deadly sarin gas in a chemical weapons attack, and expressed confidence that Congress would do “what is right” in deciding on a response.
With Obama drawing back from the brink on Saturday, France said it could not act alone in punishing President Bashar Assad for the Aug. 21 attack, making it the last remaining top Western ally to hesitate about bombing Syria.
Assad said Syria was capable of confronting any external attack, but left the most withering comments to his official media and a junior minister. “Obama announced yesterday, directly or through implication, the beginning of the historic American retreat,” Syria’s official Al-Thawra newspaper said in a front-page editorial.
Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad accused Obama of indecision. “It is clear there was a sense of hesitation and disappointment in what was said by President Barack Obama yesterday. And it is also clear there was a sense of confusion as well,” he told reporters in Damascus.