THE NEXT MOVE

Obama: I Haven't Decided on Syria Strike

But he’s concluded the government used chemical weapons.

Just let the man think. As speculation about the impending U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil conflict reaches fever pitch, President Obama says he has “not made a decision” on whether he’ll order a military strike against the regime. “Although what's happened there is tragic ... what I've also concluded is direct military engagement ... would not help the situation on the ground,” he told PBS NewsHour senior correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill on Wednesday. “We've concluded that in fact the Syrian government carried out these [chemical] attacks, and if that’s so, there needs to be international consequences,” he noted. Asked what a strike would accomplish, Obama replied that it wouldn’t mean the end of innocent civilians being killed, but would send the Syrian government “a pretty strong signal” not to use chemical warfare again.