Senate Committee OKs Resolution for Military Force in Syria - East Idaho News
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Senate Committee OKs Resolution for Military Force in Syria

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Getty 020112 Capitol?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1378327422209iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution authorizing the use of military force in Syria, setting the matter up for consideration by the full Senate when it returns next week.

The committee voted 10-7 in favor of the resolution, with one senator voting “present.” The resolution sets a 60-day timeframe for President Obama to act with limited strikes against Syria, with a possibility of a 30-day extension. The new resolution would also bar the use of U.S. ground troops in Syria.

Two Democrats, Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, joined five Republicans to oppose the resolution. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., two likely presidential contenders in 2016, were among the Republicans voting against it.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a key Republican whom the White House lobbied earlier this week to support the resolution, voted in favor of the resolution after expressing concerns earlier in the day that it did include language to “change the momentum on the battlefield,” as well as arm the opposition forces.

So McCain co-sponsored two amendments with Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., to address such issues, and both were approved by a voice vote.

The McCain-Coons amendment reads “it is the policy of the United States to change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria.”

It also says U.S. strategy will “degrade the capabilities of the Assad regime to use weapons of mass destruction while upgrading the lethal and non-lethal military capabilities of vetted elements of Syrian opposition forces, including the Free Syrian Army.”

In a statement, McCain said, “These amendments are vital to ensuring that any U.S. military operations in Syria are part of a broader strategy to change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria. That strategy must degrade the military capabilities of the Assad regime while upgrading the military capabilities of moderate Syrian opposition forces.

“These amendments would put the Congress on the record that this is the policy of the United States, as President Obama has assured me it is.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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