As part of the Obama administration's continuing effort to convince Congress to authorize military intervention in Syria Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel attended a House hearing to make the pitch, according to Politico.
"This is about the world's red line," Kerry said. "It's about humanity's red line - a line that anyone with a conscience should draw and a line that was drawn 100 years ago."
For months President Barack Obama has said that the only thing that would force the United States to consider intervention into the Syrian civil war would be if the troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad were to "cross the red line" by using chemical weapons; it is believed that chemical weapons were used in an attack in late August that killed over 1,400 people including scores of women and children.
In making the case for intervention Kerry reiterated that there is no intention to fully intervene in the civil war, the purpose of an attack will be limited to using means to take away Syria's ability to continue to use chemical weapons. Kerry also promised that United States troops will never set foot into Syria, according to Politico.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., grilled Kerry and Hagel as to what they have planned in the event of an escalation of hostilities by the Assad regime, reports Politico.
"Are different scenarios accounted for? If our credibility is on the line now, as is argued, what about if Assad retaliates?" Royce said. "The president promises a military operation in Syria of limited scope and duration. But the Assad regime would have a say in what happens next."
The Senate has been working to craft a plan of attack to deal with Syria. Sen. Bob Corker, R. Tenn., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., have created a bill that they think will be able to get the 60 votes necessary in case of a filibuster. Their plan would give the Obama administration a two-month window, with the possibility of an additional 30 day extension, to conduct air strikes against the Assad regime. The bill specifically bans ground troops being used, according to Politico.
Barely a day after Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that he would support the president in his plan to attack Syria McCain announced that the current bill in the Senate would not have his support. McCain, who has advocated for a stronger presence in Syria since shortly after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, said he will work to mold the bill into something that he can support, according to Politico.
"I feel in the strongest terms that we need to have that provision that calls for reversal of momentum on the ground in the battle against Bashar Assad," McCain said. "I am going to work to get this done. We'll see if we can't work it out."
