Globe Trot: Obama's 'second decision' leaves Syrians bewildered

Reaction in Syria to President Barack Obama’s “I’ve made a second decision” speech on Saturday is bewildered. (Look for more at WORLDmag.com today and following as the “Obama melodrama” continues.)

Members of both parties say they will not support the current draft resolution on Syria—which is surely the outcome Obama wants.

One reason: Reports continue to emerge that rebels (and Saudi Arabia) may have been behind the chemical weapons attacks. The latest is from the Doctors Without Borders team in Ghouta, which found following “numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack.”

The G-20 summit will open this Thursday in Russia, with everyone focused on the divergent positions of the United States and Russia on Syria—even as the Kremlin says Syria is not on the official agenda.

If you’re more interested in what’s actually happening in Syria than in Washington or St. Petersburg, here’s an update, plus a graphic look at the number dead in Syria’s civil war.

Islamic gunmen killed five Christians on Sunday in a roadside ambush near Jos, Nigeria. All five were from the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) congregation in Foron, whose pastor said the assailants were a combined band of ethnic Fulani herdsmen and Islamic extremist mercenaries.

“‘I don’t have much to say except to praise God for His sustaining grace in our lives,’ said Pam Gyang, 28, the pregnant widow one of the pastors killed. ‘My husband is a friend, and I’m already missing him. But what can I do but thank God for his life. I pray that through his death those who killed him will get to know Jesus as their savior.’ Gyang also has two daughters and a son.”

For the second time, the Czech Republic hosts NATO air exercises starting today. Ramstein Rover includes pilots and air controllers from 19 nations training for coordinated air strikes over Afghanistan and elsewhere in a three-week session.

For Labor Day, a meditation on the meaning of work from Peggy Noonan: “Joblessness is a personal crisis because work is a spiritual event.”