Video: Barack Obama: US cannot turn 'blind eye' to Syria As the leader of the world's oldest Constitutional democracy, I also know that our country will be stronger if we act together, and our actions will be more effective. He then stressed that any US military action "would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan." "There would be no American boots on the ground," he said. Any action we take would be limited, both in time and scope - designed to deter the Syrian government from gassing its own people again and degrade its ability to do so. Though he acknowledged that "the American people are weary after a decade of war," he said the US "cannot turn a blind eye to images like the ones we've seen out of Syria." Mr Obama declared last weekend that he would seek the backing of Congress before any military action.