A United States Senate panel is approving the use of military force against Syria in retaliation for the 21 August chemical weapon attack on civilians.  The measure specifically strikes out “boots on the ground”.

Unlike most of the business in Congress these days, this vote did not shake out on party lines.  Two Democrats joined with five Republicans to vote against it, although the measure passed by a 10-7 vote.  The measure goes to the full senate.

“What we've done today is a step in the right direction. I hope it makes a safer world,” said Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, who voted against the Iraq War a decade ago.  Durbin says that in size, scope, and intent, “this is different.”

The US, France, and other allies accuse the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons against civilians on several occasions during the 30-month conflict, most recently on a large scale in an attack on 21 August on the outskirts of Damascus.  The US puts the death toll at 1,429, although other international sources are much less.

At a stop in Stockholm on his way to the G20 conference, President Obama insisted the search for support in congress is not a personal issue.

“My credibility is not on the line.  The international community's credibility is on the line.  America and Congress's credibility is on the line, because we give lip-service to the notion that these international norms are important.”