U.S. and Syria News Update: Obama Sells Congress on Military Strike

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met with the heads of congressional committees on Tuesday to argue for a military strike on Syria following President Bashar al-Assad's alleged chemical weapon attacks on civilians in the suburbs of Damascus on Aug. 21. Those attacks reportedly left up to 1,500 dead and have drawn widespread condemnation violating the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which prohibits the first use of chemical weapons, and classifies the practice as a war crime.

Obama announced his decision Saturday to put military authorization on Syria to a congressional vote, surprising many Washington insiders, including opposition party members who had called for the vote. Since then, the White House has received endorsements for the plan of action from opposition leaders Sen. John McCain, R - Ariz., Sen. Lindsay Graham, R - S.C., and Speaker John Boehner of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The move for a congressional vote was largely seen as a step away from a purely unilateral attack. Although the French government, lead by French President Francois Hollande, has endorsed military action, France won't strike without U.S. involvement. Likewise, the Arab League also endorses action against Assad, but only from a United Nations mandate. That outcome seems unlikely given Russia and China's alliances with Syria, and their veto power on the U.N. Security Council.

Last week, the U.S.'s traditional military ally the U.K. shot down the idea of cooperating in the strike via parliamentary vote. Over the weekend, the Daily Record revealed that - thanks to government authorization - British firms were selling deadly chemicals used to make nerve gas months after the civil war in Syria began.

Whether or not the administration will strike without congressional authority is unclear, though Secretary of State John Kerry has made it clear that the option is not off the table. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both took military action without congressional approval, in Nicaragua and Kosovo, respectively.