By Senior Correspondent Desirée Taylor
NJ Today
A new campaign is full speed ahead today as the Obama administration starts to drum up support for military intervention in Syria. In a surprise announcement Saturday from the White House rose garden, the president said that while he has decided that the U.S. should intervene in the growing civil war, he will be seeking congressional approval.
“While I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective. We should have this debate,” President Barack Obama said Saturday.
That debate will take place when Congress returns to session next Monday. In the meantime, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez will hold a hearing tomorrow to weigh the options and risks involved with taking military action. Secretary of State John Kerry’s physical evidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons will be a centerpiece of the debate.
Last week on this program, Sen. Menendez said in no uncertain terms that military action is needed to send a message to the Assad regime.
“If in fact we allow Assad to use chemical weapons as he has now twice and do it with impunity and no consequence, then we send a global message that those who have chemical weapons in their possession can use them against innocent civilians,” Menendez said. “There is one indispensable leader in the world and that is the United States of America. And so that is both our challenge and our burden but is also, from my view, our responsibility.”