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NPR
Twenty-four hours after President Obama announced on Saturday that he'll wait for congressional authorization before launching strikes on Syria; members of Congress attended a classified briefing at the Capitol.For days, most of the discontent among members of Congress has been about not being included in the deliberations on Syria, about not getting the chance to vote. Now that they've gotten their way, each member of Congress will have to go on the record.
"Right now, I would say, if the vote were today, it would probably be a no vote," Republican Rep. Peter King of New York told Fox News Sunday.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said on NBC's Meet the Press, "Listen, I think Congress passes the authorization."
And, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also weighed in on NBC, "I think it's at least 50-50 whether the House will vote for involvement in the Syrian war."
Al Jazeera
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described the Middle East as a "powder keg" Monday, saying the region would "explode" if the United States and its allies execute a military strike on Syria. His warning came as the Obama administration pushed legislators to approve punitive military action over last month’s alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus."The Middle East is a powder keg and the fire is approaching today," Assad told French newspaper Le Figaro.
"You can’t only talk about what the Syrian response will be, but what could happen after a first strike. And no one knows what would happen. Everyone will lose control of the situation when the powder keg explodes," he said.
"Chaos and extremism will be widespread," he warned. "The risk of a regional war exists."
Assad said he did not regard the people of France as enemies, but described the country’s policies as "hostile." France has indicated that it would support a U.S.-led strike on military targets in Syria.
"There will be repercussions, of course negative, on France’s interests" if that happens, Assad said.
Bloomberg
Republican Senator John McCain said Congress must back taking action against Syria and that a failure of lawmakers to act would be “catastrophic” for U.S. interests in the region.McCain spoke after meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House and said congressional leaders are working on a resolution authorizing military action in Syria that can pass both the House and Senate, where some lawmakers of both parties are expressing skepticism about further committing U.S. resources.
McCain, of Arizona, was joined at the meeting by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Both lawmakers have been advocating a more aggressive U.S. response to the civil war in Syria.
Spiegel Online
The US has stepped back from an immediate response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria on Aug. 21. But Washington continues to profess certainty that Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad is behind the attack. The situation on the ground provides clues as wellTwo and a half years after the beginning of the uprising, Damascus has become an eerily empty city. The streets were deserted last Friday evening in the remaining regime-controlled districts -- from Bab Tuma in the east to Mezzeh in the west -- where there is still electricity, running water and phone service.
The Syrian capital was bracing itself for the worst. Last Thursday alone, over 10,000 people reportedly fled across the border into Lebanon, and hundreds of families of soldiers have left their apartments.
The Guardian
Russia is sending a reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean as the US prepares for a possible military strike in Syria, it was reported on Monday.The Priazovye left Russia's naval base in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol late on Sunday on a mission "to gather current information in the area of the escalating conflict", said an unidentified military source quoted by the Interfax news agency. The defence ministry declined to comment.
Barack Obama said on Saturday he would seek congressional authorisation for punitive military action against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad after what the US says was a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,400 people.
Russia says the US has not proved its case and that it believes the attack was staged by rebels to provoke intervention in the civil war