Senate Syria Resolution Aims to Limit Obama's Military Action to 90 days

By Selena Hill (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Sep 04, 2013 03:47 PM EDT

Tags Syria, Battle for Syria, Conflict in Syria, Syrian Conflict, syria crisis, President Obama

On Tuesday, members of the Senate Foreign Relations committee agreed on a Senate resolution authorizing President Barack Obama to use limited military force against Syria. The resolution would bar American ground troops and set a time limit of 60 days for a military strike. However, it would grant the president the ability to extend the 30 day time span unless Congress casts a vote of disapproval.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the committee, and Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., agreed on the measure late Tuesday, reports the Huffington Post.

"Together we have pursued a course of action that gives the President the authority he needs to deploy force in response to the Assad regime's criminal use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people, while assuring that the authorization is narrow and focused, limited in time, and assures that the Armed Forces of the United States will not be deployed for combat operations in Syria," Menendez said in a statement, reports USA Today.

Corker noted that the resolution also requires the Obama administration to produce a report detailing U.S. support for vetted and moderate opposition groups in Syria.

"I look forward to the input from my colleagues on the committee and in Congress who will have an opportunity to weigh in on what we've produced," Corker said. "This is one of the most serious matters that comes before the Congress, so as we proceed to a potentially defining vote next week, the president and his administration must continue to vigorously make their case to the American people."

The resolution could be voted on by the committee as early as Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in the House, Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly introduced a draft resolution that would limit the duration of President Obama's authority to 60 days and would restrict the president from repeating the use of force beyond the initial punitive strikes, unless Syrian forces use chemical weapons again.