[BITList] Obama to Congress - over to you.

[x50type]

“I ask you, members of Congress, to consider that some things are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the moment."

Eh! - How naïve can you get?

ct

PS        McCain and his little friend Graham want the full monty [Iraq-style] war.



Political peril, scrambled loyalties for Congress as Obama hands it war powers it demanded on Syria

President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, makes a statement about the crisis in Syria in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013. Delaying what had appeared to be an imminent strike, Obama abruptly announced Saturday he will seek congressional approval before launching any military action meant to punish Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons in an attack that killed hundreds. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
PrintBy The Associated Press 
on August 31, 2013 at 5:53 PM, updated August 31, 2013 at 5:56 PM
     
     
     
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By LAURIE KELLMAN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress, abruptly handed exactly the war powers many had demanded, grappled Saturday with whether to sign off on President Barack Obama's plan to punish Syria for an alleged chemical weapons attack.

Now with a stake in the nation's global credibility, lawmakers were seeking more information about the possible consequences of striking a region without knowing what would happen next.

The debate over what action, if any, Congress might approve is in its infancy. But the first contours began emerging within hours of Obama's announcement.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he doesn't believe Syria should go unpunished for the Aug. 21 attack near Damascus. "But we need to understand what the whole scope of consequences is," he said by telephone. "What the president may perceive as limited ... won't stop there."

Arguing for a strategy that seeks to end Syrian President Bashar Assad's rule, Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina issued a joint statement saying that any operation should be broader in scope than the "limited" scope Obama described.

"We cannot in good conscience support isolated military strikes in Syria that are not part of an overall strategy that can change the momentum on the battlefield, achieve the president's stated goal of Assad's removal from power, and bring an end to this conflict, which is a growing threat to our national security interests," the senators said.

"Anything short of this would be an inadequate response to the crimes against humanity that Assad and his forces are committing. And it would send the wrong signal to America's friends and allies, the Syrian opposition, the Assad regime, Iran, and the world - all of whom are watching closely what actions America will take," they said.

Lawmakers of both parties had, for days, demanded that Obama seek congressional authorization under the War Powers Act. Until Saturday, the president showed no willingness to do so and the military strike appeared imminent. Then, from the White House Rose Garden, Obama said he would strike Syria in a limited way and without boots on the ground. But, he added, he would seek congressional approval first.

"All of us should be accountable as we move forward, and that can only be accomplished with a vote," Obama said. "And in doing so, I ask you, members of Congress, to consider that some things are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the moment."

With that, Obama dropped the question of Syria, the nation's credibility and the balance of government power in the very laps of lawmakers who had complained about his go-it-alone-style -- but were less clear about how they would want to deal with a horrific chemical attack that the administration said killed 1,429 people, including 426 children. Other estimates of the death toll were in the hundreds.










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