On August 21^st, there was a chemical attack on Syrian civilians in the outskirts of Damascus. Rebel forces blamed the attack on the Assad government, and Assad claimed innocence from the attack.

Western nations, such as the United States, France, and Great Britain were convinced that Assad was indeed behind the attack, and pushed for military action. President Obama held a speech concerning military intervention against Syria on the basis of the chemical weapons attack.

On August 9^th, Russia, one of the Syrian government’s allies, offered to have Syria put its chemical weapons under international control to avoid a military strike by western nations against Assad’s government.

While the United States was open to Russia’s offer, on September 10 President Obama held a speech that underscored the necessity for launching a limited strike against Syria.