Obama's Congress request marks U.S. 'retreat': Syrian media

Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama makes remarks on the situation in Syria, at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington August 31, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's decision to seek congressional approval before going ahead with a military strike on Syria is the start of a U.S. "retreat", Syrian state media said on Sunday. "Obama announced yesterday, directly or through implication, the beginning of the historic American retreat," said the comments, which were carried in a front-page editorial in Syria's official al-Thawra newspaper. The U.S. president said on Saturday he would seek congressional consent before taking military action against Damascus for its apparent use of chemical weapons, a move likely to delay an attack for at least 10 days. "A decision to wage war on Syria is a criminal decision and an incorrect decision. We are confident that we will be victorious," Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad told reporters outside a hotel in Damascus. (Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Andrew Roche)