A committee vote on Wednesday afternoon ended with the advancement of a bill compelling the US military responds to Assad’s regime, and will next go to the full Senate for debate.
The committee voted 10-to-7 in favor of using military force, with one lawmakers voting only “present.”
The resolution permits Obama to order a limited military strike against Syria that would not exceed 90 days and involves no American troops on the ground for combat operations. The vote marked the first time that US lawmakers have voted to authorize the use of military force since October 2002, when they gave President George W. Bush the authority to invade Iraq.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the resolution next week, and the 435 member House of Representatives must also approve the measure before it can be sent to Obama for his signature.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee was holding a hearing on Wednesday on a resolution authorizing military force against Syria, similar to a hearing held Tuesday by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified at both hearings.
As Kerry delivered his testimony Wednesday before the House committee, members of the anti-war group Code Pink sitting behind him held up their red-dyed hands in protest of the proposed US military action in Syria. Members of the same group interrupted Kerrya's testimony Tuesday before the Senate committee by shouting.
Should Congress move to approve the president’s request, the US could soon initiate a limited strike on Syria that is meant to reprimand Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons on August 21 outside the city of Damascus. The Obama administration says more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of women and children, were killed in that assault.
The president and leading members of his cabinet have made repeated pleas in recent days for Congress to approve action against Assad that would be limited in scope and meant to reprimand the Syrian leader and degrade his ability to further use chemical weapons.
Following a swell in criticism, Obama said over the weekend that he would ask Congress to approve a strike instead of pursuing other routes to authorize a strike. According to the president, Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons constituted a dissolution of international norms that warranted a response from the US.
 RT, RIA
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