Obama’s War Request To Congress On Syria Is “Blank Check”, Gives Him Power To Commit Whatever Assets He Chooses.

Obama’s War Request To Congress On Syria Is “Blank Check”, Gives Him Power To Commit Whatever Assets He Chooses.HT: InfidelBloggers.

It took less than 24 hours for lawmakers to realize that the draft authorization for the use of military force sent to Congress by President Barack Obama would open the door to a prolonged war with Syria.

That’s not something that Obama or top administration have been publicly pushing for — all indications are that the plan is for targeted action to deter the regime of Bashar al-Assad from further use of chemical weapons.
But, as became clear on Capitol Hill on Sunday, Congress has no appetite for the broader mandate that the White House technically proposed. As #WGDB noted Saturday night, the draft would authorize Obama to use U.S. military assets “as he determines to be necessary and appropriate” to prevent Assad from using or proliferating chemical weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., reportedly said after a Sunday afternoon classified briefing in the Capitol that administration officials had conceded the resolution language would be modified. “I think the biggest question I heard is that the president’s request is open-ended,” Roberts said, according to The Washington Post.

 “That has to be rectified, and they simply said in answer to that that they would work with the Congress and try to come back with a more prescribed resolution. But I’m not too sure that the people who answered that are the people that have that decision to make,” added Roberts, a former Intelligence Committee chairman.
Likewise, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy said that Democratic aides were already working on revisions. Senate Democratic leadership aides did not immediately respond to a request for an update on that work.
“I know it’s going to be amended in the Senate,” the Vermont Democrat said, according to Politico.

“While the President makes the case for limited action, the resolution he proposes is without limits. The proposed resolution would give the President the authority to act with no limit on the duration of our involvement and it would authorize all types of military action, including boots-on-the-ground,” Sherman said. “We cannot give the President a blank check.”Read the full story here.