Wasserman Schultz Reiterates Support For Air Strikes On Syria
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has made her intention to vote to authorize military action in Syria known for some time, but it may not be needed if a new plan is accepted by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Wasserman Schultz was in Miami Monday and told CBS4 that part of what convinced her was the children who suffered during the attack. More than 400 children were believed to have died in the alleged chemical attack the Obama administration is citing as a need for military action.
"For me as a mother, having seen, now, the film of the results of the horrors of a chemical attack; the children writhing on the floor, many of them lined up dead. The United States has to (take action)," Wasserman Schultz said Monday.
President Barack Obama is making the media rounds Monday to pitch his case to a skeptical American public about the need for a targeted military action. President Obama will also make a nationally televised address making his case for military action.
However, Russia might be ready to diffuse the situation between Syria and the United States.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov vowed to push Syria, a Russian ally, to place its chemical weapons under international control and then dismantle them to avert U.S. air strikes.
"If the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country would allow avoiding strikes, we will immediately start working with Damascus," Lavrov said. "We are calling on the Syrian leadership to not only agree on placing chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also on its subsequent destruction and fully joining the treaty on prohibition of chemical weapons,"
The move by Russia came a few hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Syria could resolve the crisis by turning over his entire arsenal of chemical weapons to the international community by the end of the week.
Syria has reportedly said that it welcomed the proposal from Russia, but hasn't decided on a course of action as of noon Monday.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
