US seeks to strengthen case for military action in Syria

WASHINGTON (AP):

The Obama administration yesterday confidently predicted congressional backing for limited military action in Syria and disclosed fresh evidence the Assad government used sarin gas in a deadly attack.

Senior United States (US) officials sought to lay out their case to divided lawmakers in a classified briefing as the countdown began to the biggest foreign policy vote since Congress authorised President George W. Bush to invade Iraq.

In a series of interviews on the Sunday TV news shows, Secretary of State John Kerry said the case for intervention in Syria's 2¹/²-year civil war was strengthening each day and that he expected American lawmakers to recognise the need for action when the "credibility of the United States is on the line".

retaliatory strikes

He said President Barack Obama has the authority to launch retaliatory strikes with or without Congress' approval, but Kerry stopped short of saying the president would do so if the House or Senate withholds support.

"The stakes are just really too high here," Kerry said. "We are not going to lose this vote."

Seeking to sharpen the argument for war, Kerry said the US has received hair and blood samples from first responders indicating that Syria's government forces used sarin in its August 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs.

It was the first piece of specific physiological evidence cited by the administration, which previously cited only an unnamed nerve agent in the killing of 1,429 civilians, including more than 400 children. The US says such chemical weapons use compels an international response.