Does Obama Have the Votes on Syria Intervention? Will He?
Not looking kinetic
Public opinion polls seem to agree, the possibility of US intervention in Syria is very unpopular among the American people. Nevertheless, while President Obama continues to insist he has the authority to use military force in Syria without Congressional approval, he and his administration are still pushing Congress to vote to authorize action in Syria. At the G-20 in St. Petersburg this week, the president is not finding a lot of international support for military intervention in Syria. He reportedly arrived late and alone to a dinner with other world leaders tonight, where Putin said they would have a chance to talk about Syria, not officially on the economic summit's agenda.
The president has also canceled a trip to Los Angeles which included a Hollywood fundraiser an an AFL-CIO convention speech, which the Hill suggests is partly because the Obama Administration doesn't have the votes on a Syrian intervention in the House of Representatives. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution on military action in Syria by a 10-7 vote, with two Democrats joining five Republicans in voting no. The other seven Democrats voted for the resolution, joined by Bob Corker, the ranking Republican on the committee, and Arizona senators John McCain and Jeff Flake.
In the House, Rep. Justin Amash suggested lawmakers who support the intervention might as well start packing their bags because of the "[u]nprecedented level of public opposition" to military action in Syria. Like several of the senators at yesterday's Syria hearing, Amash says he's met very few constituents who actually support intervening in Syria. The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, meanwhile, asked caucus members to "limit public comment" on intervention in Syria until getting "more information" from the administration.