President Barack Obama surprised many political insiders by deciding to get the blessing of Congress prior to taking military action in Syria. The first step in convincing Congress to support intervention was taken over the weekend when President Obama was able to convince Republican leader John McCain, R-Ariz., to support a strike on the military of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, according to the New York Times.
McCain would only agree to the president's plan under a few conditions. One of those being that he would support a small scale military strike by the United States as long as it would weaken that Syrian military and if in addition steps were taken to help arm the rebel forces. President Obama said that a secret effort to train and arm a group of 50 Syrian rebels by the Central Intelligence Agency had already taken place and that the troops were preparing to enter Syria, according to the New York Times.
"It is all in the details, but I left the meeting feeling better than I felt before about what happens the day after and that the purpose of the attack is going to be a little more robust than I thought," Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., who attended the meeting along with Sen. McCain, said.
McCain told reporters outside of the meeting that he was encouraged by his discussion with President Obama. McCain insisted that a concrete deal had not been agreed to and there was still a lot of work to be done but he reaffirmed his belief that if Congress votes no on the proposed military intervention that it would be "catastrophic" for the United States, according to the New York Times.
Unlike the majority of issues to come before Congress during his presidency President Obama has work to do in order to convince members of both parties to support the Syrian strike, opposition is not split along party lines as per usual. One key ally the president will need to make his case is Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House minority leader.
"Military action in response to Assad's reckless use of deadly gas that is limited in scope and duration, without boots on the ground, is in our national security interest and in furtherance of regional stability and global security," Pelosi told USA Today.
Pelosi has a history of being anti-war the majority of the time, her support should do a lot to win the support of other liberals who usually fall into the anti-war camp, according to USA Today.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is on the record as supporting President Obama's stance toward the war torn Middle Eastern nation but has yet to say if he supports the planned military intervention. Boehner's ability to convince House Republicans to support a policy they may agree with from a president they oppose remains to be seen, earlier this year it was made clear that junior members of the House have no problem going against Republican leadership, according to USA Today.
The next step in trying to earn support for military intervention is expected to be taken on Tuesday as Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel meet with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to USA Today.
