Obama, Kerry push for unilateral action; differences in Congress

Some senators believe strike would be weakened without support of other nations

As US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry, pushed for unilateral action against the Assad regime in Syria, differences emerged among lawmakers on the approach the United States should take to hold the regime accountable for the alleged use of chemical weapons.

Powerful Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said yesterday that the US should not undertake a kinetic strike before the UN inspectors complete their work.

"The impact of such a strike would be weakened if it does not have the participation and support of a large number of nations, including Arab nations," Levin said, asking the Administration to send a powerful message to the Assad regime by immediately getting lethal aid to vetted elements of the Syrian opposition.

"Doing so can change the balance militarily and also contribute to a political solution in Syria," Levin said, after Obama yesterday said that he was looking for a "limited narrow act" against the Assad regime.

"We are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act that would help make sure that not only Syria, but others around the world, understand that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban and norm," Obama has said.

While two influential Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham batted for the hard US action against Assad regime.

"The purpose of military action in Syria should not be to help the President save face. It should not be merely cosmetic. Instead, the goal of military action should be to shift the balance of power on the battlefield against Assad and his forces," the two Senators said in a joint statement.

"The United States, together with our friends and allies, should take out Assad's air power, ballistic missiles, command and control, and other significant military targets, and we should dramatically increase our efforts to train and arm moderate Syrian opposition forces. This can be done in a limited way, without boots on the ground, and at minimal risk to our men and women in uniform," they said.