奥巴马总统宣称他将寻求国会对叙利亚政府军事行动的批准。在白宫的发言中，奥巴马再次控告叙利亚政府采取化学武器袭击大马士革郊区库塔之事，但他称对该问题的讨论和表决非常重要。

“For the last several days we've heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard. I absolutely agree. So this morning I spoke with all four congressional leaders and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress come back in the session while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization. I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective.”

“过去几天，我们认识到国会成员希望他们的想法被了解。我对此完全同意。因此今早我与所有4位国会领导人谈话，他们已同意进行辩论并尽早在国会会议期表决，同时我认为我有权无需经过国会专门授权而执行军事行动。我知道如果我们选择这条道路，国家将会更强大，我们的行动也将更有效。”

Members of Congress have welcomed President Obama's decision to seek their backing for military intervention in Syria. The Republican leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell said the president's role as commander in chief will be strengthened by it. From Washington here is Rajini Vaidyanathan.