In order to win support for military intervention into the Syrian civil war after Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's forces appear to have used chemical weapons President Barack Obama has called on the man he defeated in 2008 to help pitch the idea to Congress, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., according to the Associated Press.
McCain has supported military intervention into the region for quite some time. Back in May McCain made a covert trip crossing the Turkish border into Syria in order to meet with leaders of the Syrian opposition. The recent attack that killed 1,492 Syrians, apparently by using sarin gas, proved to McCain that it was beyond time for the United States to act, according to CBS News.
"Our friends and enemies alike, both in the Middle East and across the world, are questioning whether America has the will and capacity to do what it says," McCain said in a statement. This dangerous development impacts the national security interests of the Unites States and closest allies, and if we continue to sit by passively while Assad continues to use chemical weapons against his own people, we only provide encouragement to other brutal governments in their use of harsh measures against their own people. It is time for the United States to come to the assistance of the Syrian people."
On Friday Secretary of State Kerry made the case for intervention by releasing intelligence information showing that chemical weapons were used by al-Assad.
"We know that the regime ordered this attack," Kerry said. "We know they prepared for it. We know where the rockets came from. We know where they landed. We know the damage that was done afterwards."
Members of Congress have been demanding that President Obama come to them so it can be put up to a vote before committing militarily. The case for military intervention had broad international support as recently as a week ago but it has been quickly fading with only France firmly backing the United States currently.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron was shocked when Parliament voted against a strike on Syria. The United Nations Security Council could not come up with a response due to Russia, Syria's strongest ally, using its veto power.
Support for military intervention in Syria has been met with lukewarm support by Congress and even less enthusiasm by the American people. After a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan polls have found that an overwhelming majority of people oppose military action in Syria, according to Fox News.
Nearly a quarter of Congress returned to Washington on Sunday to be briefed on the intelligence reports in preparation for a vote. The mood seemed to be pleased that President Obama was asking for permission prior to taking unilateral action in Syria, although many of the lawmakers were prepared to vote against action, according to CBS News.
"I feel terrible about the chemical weapons that have been used," Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif., told CBS News. "However, we know that chemical weapons have been used in other instances, and we did not take military action."
Those that support military action tend to be doing so under the condition that the United States does not commit ground troops into the region out of fear that a quagmire like what was seen in Afghanistan and Iraq could lead to a military commitment that would last years, according to CBS News.
"I would support a very narrowly tailored, narrowly-crafted resolution, that made it clear that U.S. troops would not be on the ground," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said.
