5 So why did President Obama go to Congress?
The president seemed, in part, to be responding to the lack of support for a Syria attack from key allies like Great Britain, and at home: Americans are war-weary after a decade of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"There is nobody in my district who is so concerned about the well-being of people in Syria that they would prefer to see us spend billions of dollars on a missile attack against Syria than to spend exactly the same amount of money on schools or roads or health care," says Congressman Alan Grayson, Democrat of Florida.
Some lawmakers have applauded the president for asking Congress to authorize a military strike. Others say doing so makes him--and the nation--look weak and indecisive.
"President Obama is abdicating his responsibility as commander-in-chief and undermining the authority of future presidents," says Congressman Peter King, Republican of New York.
A deal brokered in September to force Syria to give up its chemical weapons has, for the time being, eliminated the need for a vote in Congress. But Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. remains prepared to strike if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fails to allow the removal of his entire chemical arsenal.
"President Obama has made it clear," Kerry said, "that to accomplish that, the threat of force remains.