John Kerry Speaks on Syria in Paris: We Can't Be 'Silent Spectators to Slaughter' - 9/7/13

9/7/13 - Secretary of State John Kerry held a joint press conference in Paris on Saturday with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius following a meeting with European Union members. Kerry continued to make the case for military intervention in Syria, and continued emphasizing in his opening remarks that "we are not talking about going to war." He said the United States cannot be "silent spectators to slaughter" and argued that doing nothing is "far more risky than responding."

During the press conference, NBC's Andrea Mitchell asked Kerry about the strong opposition the Obama administration faces at home, pointing to the strong public and Congressional stance against Syrian intervention. She asked Kerry, "How can the administration take action in the face of that?"

Kerry maintained that what happened in Syria isn't just contained to Syria, "this concerns every American's security." He noted that the only two other men to use chemical weapons in such a manner before Assad were Adolf Hitler and Sadaam Hussein. Kerry referred to Russia's standing on the U.N. Security Council, arguing that the U.S. can't just turn its back because the international body has become a "tool of ideology."