After much hesitation, Barack Obama said that he was ready to order an air attack on Syria because its leader Bashar al-Assad allegedly used chemical weapons against those trying to overthrow him. An attack didn’t seem far off — at least until the president announced that he would seek the formal approval of Congress, which means that there will be more time for diplomacy and for Obama to make a final decision.

About the author: John Pritchett is a longtime award-winning political cartoonist. He has been penning artwork in Hawaii for decades, including 20 years at the Honolulu Weekly. Find more of his work on the web at pritchettcartoons.com.