White House Girds for Battle With Congress on Syria

With the recent developments in Syria and the US ability to intervene in international affairs, it looks increasingly slim that they will not take action. An attack in Syria left the international community concerned as traces of Sarin were said to be found. Below is a snippet from the Wall Street Journal on the latest developments.

By JAY SOLOMON and JANET HOOK CONNECT

http://on.wsj.com/14gR9df

President Obama says that while he has decided that it is necessary for the U.S. to undertake a military strike on Syria, he will seek the support of Congress before doing so. WASHINGTON—The White House is girding for more than a week of battle with Congress over President Barack Obama's plan to launch limited military strikes against the Syrian regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons last month.

To back the administration's position, Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the U.S. had obtained new blood and hair samples from inside Syria that confirmed President Bashar al-Assad's regime used sarin, a powerful nerve agent, against civilians in an Aug. 21 attack on an eastern Damascus suburb.

Mr. Kerry said he believed this new evidence will help the White House build more support on Capitol Hill and among allies in Europe and the Middle East to take military action aimed at degrading Mr. Assad's ability to conduct chemical warfare. The leaders of the House and Senate said they would hold votes on the need for military action in Syria during the week of Sept. 9.

"If the United States is unwilling to lead a coalition of people who are prepared to stand up for the international norm with respect to chemical weapons that's been in place since 1925, if we are unwilling to do that, we will be granting a blanket license to Assad to continue to gas," Mr. Kerry said on ABC's "This Week." "We will send a terrible message to the North Koreans, Iranians and others who might be trying to read how serious is America." Mr. Obama said on Saturday that he has decided he should order a limited military strike against Syria, but in an about-face he said he would ask Congress to authorize the mission.

Leading Republican and Democratic lawmakers said over the weekend that Mr. Obama is going to face a major political fight to gain Congress's approval, which requires the majority of both the House and Senate to vote in favor of military action. Mr. Assad's regime, meanwhile, mocked Mr. Obama's decision to seek congressional approval for military action, claiming the U.S. had lost its nerve and was fading as a global superpower.

Full article below

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323932604579048821158553250.html

The Latest on the Edward Snowden Saga

The father of the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden says his son has been so vilified by the Obama administration and members of Congress that he is now better off staying in Russia.

Lon Snowden had been working behind the scenes with lawyers to try to find a way his son could get a fair trial in the US. Edward Snowden has been charged in federal court with violating the Espionage Act by leaking details of NSA surveillance.

But in a telephone interview with the Associated Press, the elder Snowden said he had lost faith in recent weeks that his son would be treated fairly by the justice department. He now thinks his 30-year-old son is better off avoiding the US if possible until an administration that respects the constitution comes into office.

"If it were me, knowing what I know now, and listening to advice of sage people like [Pentagon Papers leaker] Daniel Ellsberg ... I would attempt to find a safe haven," Snowden said.

As a military analyst more than four decades ago, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of America's involvement in Vietnam, to newspapers.

 

Continue reading the full article from the source here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/27/nsa-snowden-father-justice-Russia