On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution giving President Obama limited authority to begin a military strike on Syria. The committee voted 10 to 7, in favor of using military force in response to Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons. The resolution is now going to full senate, following administration officials’ appeal for congressional approval of the strike on Wednesday.
Obama spoke at a news conference in Stockholm, supporting a strike on Syria that was “limited in time and in scope.” “I didn’t set a red line,” Obama said in response to a question, “the world set a red line,” referring to a treaty forbidding the use of chemical weapons. “Congress set a red line when it ratified that treaty.”
The Senate committee’s final version of the resolution was slightly amended after the one released Tuesday night, being “tightly tailored,” as described by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). The President is being given adequate authority, but the resolution “does not authorize” the use of U.S. ground troops in Syria.
