Kerry: US faces a 'Munich moment'

Secretary of State John Kerry told House Democrats that the United States faced a "Munich moment" in deciding whether to respond to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, Politico reported on Monday.

According to the Politico report, in a 70-minute conference call on Monday afternoon, Kerry derided Syrian President Bashar Assad as a "two-bit dictator" who will "continue to act with impunity," and he urged lawmakers to back President Barack Obama's plan for "limited, narrow" strikes against the Assad regime, Democratic sources on the call told the news web site.

Kerry's derisive comments on Assad and his reference to the 1938 Munich agreement between Adolf Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, signal the White House's resolve to get Congress on board Obama's plan to punish Assad for his use of chemical weapons.

Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham met with Obama on Monday. After the meeting, McCain warned that if Congress rejects the resolution, "the consequences would be catastrophic. The credibility of this country with friends and adversaries alike would be shredded, and there would be not only implications for this president but for future presidencies as well."

On Tuesday afternoon, Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to testify publicly before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Earlier Tuesday, other members of the administration's national security and intelligence teams were to hold a classified, closed-door briefing for all members of Congress. A similar session was held Sunday and more will be held Thursday and Friday.

On Tuesday, Obama scheduled a meeting with leaders of the House and Senate armed services committees, the foreign relations committees and the intelligence committees.

Kerry will also testify Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Kerry and National Intelligence Director James Clapper will hold a classified briefing Wednesday with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Members of the House Democratic caucus participated in an unclassified conference call Monday with Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, Kerry, Hagel, Clapper and Dempsey.

Following their White House meeting, McCain and Graham, who often speak in unison on foreign policy matters, said they were more inclined to back Obama's call for military action against Syria if it helps destroy the regime's missile launching capabilities and if the U.S. commits to provide more assistance to Syrian opposition forces.

"A degrading strike limited in scope could have a beneficial effect to the battlefield momentum," Graham said.

"There will never be a political settlement in Syria as long as Assad is winning."

McCain, who was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 and lost to Obama, said Obama clearly was asking for his help in rounding up votes. "I don't think he called us over because we're old campaign pals," he joked.

But the outcome of any vote remained in doubt amid continued skepticism in a war-weary Congress. Several Democrats in a conference call with administration officials pushed back against military action, questioning both the intelligence about a chemical attack last month outside Damascus and the value of an intervention to United States interests, according to aides on the call. Others demanded narrower authorization than that requested by the administration.

"The White House has put forward a proposed bill authorizing the use of force that, as drafted, is far too broad and open ended, and could be used to justify everything from a limited cruise missile strike to a no fly zone and the introduction of American ground troops," said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a member of the House of Representatives intelligence committee.

After changing course and deciding to seek congressional approval for military action, Obama is confronted with one of his most difficult foreign policy tests and faces a Congress divided over an unavoidably tough vote-of-conscience on overseas conflict rather than the more customary partisan fights over domestic policy.

"My impression is that a lot of people are up for grabs," McCain said.

Obama is leaving for a three-day trip to Europe Tuesday night, visiting Stockholm, Sweden, and then attending an economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The visit is all the more significant because Russia has sided with the Syrian regime. Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Monday the information the U.S. showed Moscow to prove the Syrian regime was behind the chemical attack was "absolutely unconvincing."

In a daring move, Russian President Vladimir Putin was considering sending a delegation of Russian lawmakers to the United States to discuss the situation in Syria with members of Congress, the Interfax news agency reported Monday.

The White House is engaging in what officials call a "flood-the-zone" persuasion strategy with Congress, arguing that failure to act against Assad would weaken any deterrence against the use of chemical weapons and could embolden not only Assad but also Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Obama has stressed that whatever action he takes, it will not result in placing American troops on the ground in Syria.

A senior State Department official said Kerry called Syrian rebel commander Salim Idris on Monday to discuss Obama's decision to seek congressional authority and to express confidence that U.S. military action would hold Assad accountable for the use of chemical weapons, deter his behavior and degrade the regime's ability to carry out such attacks. He also stressed the need for a "strong and unified moderate opposition."

After Monday's meeting, McCain said: "Now we are talking about ways of approaching this issue in a way that could be effective. We've got to see more, but at least they are talking about some options that I think could work. "

Asked whether Obama would expand his targets in Syria, McCain alluded to the Navy's decision to place two aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea. The USS Truman arrived in the region to take the place of the USS Nimitz, which was supposed to head home. But the Navy ordered the Nimitz to stay for now.

"I don't think it's an accident that the aircraft carriers are in the region." McCain said.

U.S. officials, however, have described the decision as prudent planning and have said it doesn't suggest the Nimitz would play a role in any possible strikes in Syria.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday he is convinced that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people and insists a strong reaction is needed to show dictators around the world that such weapons cannot be used with impunity.

He said that the alliance would remain a strong defender of Turkey in case the member state was attacked as part of the Syria crisis, and NATO would remain a forum for allies to consult about action. He says that, at the moment, he does not see an additional NATO role.

Rasmussen insisted that "personally I am convinced, not only that a chemical attack has taken place ... but I am also convinced that the Syrian regime is responsible."

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו