Obama gains Syria-strike support

Those representing Southwest Washington in Congress have misgivings about a potential U.S. military strike against Syria.

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, is “very skeptical that going to war with Syria is in our nation’s best interest,” her spokesman, Casey Bowman, said in a statement Tuesday. That said, “she’s keeping an open mind and will listen to the case being made by the president in the coming days,” he added.

Washington’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, condemned Syria’s apparent use of chemical weapons on its own citizens but also said they worried about entangling the U.S. in another drawn-out military conflict.

Cantwell “continues to support humanitarian aid to the Syrian people and military aid to moderate forces in the Syrian opposition,” her spokesman said in a statement. “Sen. Cantwell has serious questions about the strategic goals of a military strike in Syria and possible outcomes.”

Likewise, Murray said in a recent statement that she has “very serious concerns about any military action that would further strain our nation’s service members and limited resources.”

— Stevie Mathieu

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama gained ground Tuesday in his drive for congressional backing of a military strike against Syria, winning critical support from House Speaker John Boehner while key Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to back a no-combat-troops-on-the-ground action in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.

Officials said the emerging Senate measure would receive a vote today in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Approval is likely.

“You’re probably going to win” Congress’ backing, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a conservative and likely opponent of the measure, conceded in a late-afternoon exchange with Secretary of State John Kerry.

The leader of House Republicans, Boehner emerged from a meeting at the White House and said the United

States has “enemies around the world that need to understand that we’re not going to tolerate this type of behavior. We also have allies around the world and allies in the region who also need to know that America will be there and stand up when it’s necessary.”

Boehner spoke as lawmakers in both parties called for changes to the president’s requested legislation, insisting it be rewritten to restrict the type and duration of any military action.

In the Senate, the compromise was the work of Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., among others. They are the chairman and senior Republican, respectively, on the Foreign Relations Committee, which held a lengthy hearing during the day on Obama’s request for congressional legislation in support of the military reprisal he wants.

The measure would set a time limit of 60 days and says the president could extend that for 30 days more unless Congress votes otherwise.

The measure also bars the use of U.S. ground troops for “combat operations.”

The White House had no immediate reaction to the Senate measure, although Kerry, testifying earlier before the committee, signaled that the troop restriction was acceptable to the administration. “There’s no problem in our having the language that has zero capacity for American troops on the ground,” he said.

“President Obama is not asking America to go to war,” Kerry said in a strongly worded opening statement. He added, “This is not the time for armchair isolationism. This is not the time to be spectators to slaughter.”

Obama said earlier in the day he was open to revising the relatively broad request the White House made over the weekend. He expressed confidence Congress would respond to his call for support and said Assad’s action “poses a serious national security threat to the United States and to the region.

The administration says 1,429 died from the attack on Aug. 21 in a Damascus suburb. Casualty estimates by other groups are far lower, and Assad’s government blames the episode on rebels who have been seeking to overthrow his government in a civil war that began over two years ago. A United Nations inspection team is awaiting lab results on tissue and soil samples it collected while in the country before completing a closely watched report.

Obama set the fast-paced events in motion on Saturday, when he unexpectedly stepped back from ordering a military strike under his own authority and announced he would seek congressional approval.

Recent presidents have all claimed the authority to undertake limited military action without congressional backing. Some have followed up with such action.

Obama said he, too, believes he has that authority, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said during the day that even Congress’ refusal to authorize the president wouldn’t negate the power of the commander in chief.

Still, the president also has stated that the United States will be stronger if lawmakers grant their support. But neither Obama nor his aides has been willing to state what options would be left to him should Congress reject his call.

As Obama has often noted, the country is weary of war after more than a decade of combat deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq, and there is residual skepticism a decade after Bush administration claims went unproved that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.