Syrian president Bashar al-Assad denied that he was behind a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people, as the White House yesterday pressed ahead with the uphill effort of persuading Congress to approve a military strike to punish Assad.

FOR some time now, a certain strategic vision has been gaining traction: the United States is becoming energy independent, paving the way for its political retreat from the Middle East and justifying its strategic “pivot” toward Asia.

MARKING Osama bin Laden’s death where the terrorist inflicted his greatest damage, President Barack Obama soberly laid a wreath yesterday at Ground Zero and declared to the city and the world, “When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.”

SOME of Washington’s most influential political figures have backed ambitious plans to invite US President Barack Obama to Cork.