Congress can breathe a sigh of relief: Lawmakers likely wonÂ’t have to take a tough vote on authorizing the use of military force in Syria anytime soon.
| They won't be asked to take a tough vote on anything... |
The preliminary agreement between the United States and Russia on turning over SyriaÂ’s chemical weapons by mid-2014 sets a deadline of November of this year for international inspectors to enter the Middle Eastern country.
The delay will allow Capitol Hill to do nothing as usual pivot from an unpopular decision on military strikes — which many members in both parties opposed — to instead confront a pair of looming fiscal crises, funding the government and raising the debt ceiling.
Senators said last week that the growing opposition to military strikes among members of Congress did not give either party the upper hand on economic issues, but admitted Syria threatened to become a major distraction on the Hill.
The pressure of a high-stakes vote had intensified as it became increasingly clear that President Barack Obama would lose in the House and faced an uphill battle in the Senate. The possibility of a diplomatic solution emerged after Kerry made what appeared to be an off-hand comment in Europe last week — suggesting Syria could avoid military strikes if the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad turned over its stockpiles of chemical weapons to the international community.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) temporarily pulled a limited, 90-day strike on Syria on Wednesday from the floor of the Senate. A GOP aide said Saturday that any renewed effort in the upper chamber would likely necessitate another direct ask from Obama, who has said that he told the Senate to temporarily shelve the measure.
| At which point it will fail, since Obama isn't too good at asking for anything... |
“We’re ready to bring it to the floor at a moment’s notice,” a Senate Democratic aide said. “But for the moment, we’re letting the diplomatic process play out.”
| Brave words for a party that's running scared. |
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