DHAKA: A Syrian state-run newspaper says that US president Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional approval before taking military action against Syria marks ‘the start of the historic American retreat’.

In a front-page editorial on Sunday, the Al-Thawra daily says Obama’s reluctance to carry out strikes against Syria stems from his ‘sense of implicit defeat and the disappearance of his allies’.

It also says the US president worries about limited intervention turning into ‘an open war has pushed him to seek Congress’ consent’.

Al-Thawra is a government newspaper and its editorials reflect the thinking of president Bashar Assad’s regime, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1609 HRS, SEPT 01, 2013
RoR/ADB