President Obama has asked that Senate Democrats wait to vote on the plan to take military action in Syria while details are adjusted. Senators at the meeting reported that Obama “asked for some time to work things out,” and estimated that it would take a few days to a week.
Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, added: “it’s important that we do this well, not quickly. We’ll see what’s going on. You know the last 24 hours has had some remarkable changes in what people are talking about. Let’s see what else happens.”
These changes are reflected in Russia’s decision to pull its request for Tuesday’s emergency United Nations Security Council meeting. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the country is developing a “workable, clear and specific plan,” indicating that the air of urgency has decreased slightly. John Kerry did however state in an address to the House Armed Services Committee that “we’re waiting for that proposal, but we’re not waiting long.” Reid added: “We’re going to continue to work on moving forward with this but keeping pronounced, and I pronounce it now, the credible threat of our doing something about this attack is going to remain.”
