Senate committee votes to move ahead on Syrian intervention, full Senate vote next week
The Senate foreign relations committee voted to give President Barack Obama the authority to use military force against Syria in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack.
Syria’s Bashar al-Assad may be seeing US missiles soon as approval to use force against the Assad regime took a step forward Wednesday. photo donkeyhotey donkeyhotey.wordpress.com
The vote Wednesday was 10-7, with one senator voting present.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the measure next week.
This resolution would permit Obama to “order a limited military mission against Syria, as long as it doesn’t exceed 90 days” and involves no American troops on the ground for combat operations. It drafted by Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and the GOP leader Bob Corker. (their official statement is below)
Republicans John McCain, Jeff Flake and Corker are the only GOP members to vote for the resolution.
The vote marked the first time lawmakers have voted to authorize military action since the October 2002 votes giving President George W. Bush the authority to invade Iraq.
“Sharing President Obama’s view that our nation is best served when we come together as one, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has crafted a bipartisan Authorization for the Use of Military Force that we believe reflects the will and concerns of Democrats and Republicans alike. Together we have pursued a course of action that gives the President the authority he needs to deploy force in response to the Assad regime’s criminal use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people, while assuring that the authorization is narrow and focused, limited in time, and assures that the Armed Forces of the United States will not be deployed for combat operations in Syria. The mass atrocity committed by the Assad regime in grave violation of international law requires American leadership. We have an obligation to act, not witness and watch while a humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in plain view. With this agreement, we are one step closer to granting the President the authority to act in our national security interest. I thank Ranking Member Corker for his continued collaboration and partnership and look forward to our work together in the days ahead.”
