Senate Panel Approves Military Action in Syria

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution Wednesday authorizing President Barack Obama to conduct military strikes in Syria.

The 10-7 vote came after the panel added a provision to the resolution stating U.S. policy aims to "change the momentum on the battlefield" in the Syrian civil war, in order to force President Bashar al-Assad to ultimately agree to a negotiated settlement that would end the conflict and paves the way for a democratic government.

The full Senate and the House still have to approve the resolution.

The president is seeking congressional approval for strikes in Syria after Secretary ofState John Kerry said that samples collected by first responders after the reported Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria have tested positive for the nerve agent sarin.Kerry then compared the use of chemical weapons by Assad to the tactics of other ruthless dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

Obama could still order military strikes against Syria even if Congress doesn't authorize them, but he has maintained he's seeking approval from U.S. lawmakers because he thinks it will strengthen America's response to the use of military action. "We will be stronger as a country in our response [to Syria] if the president and Congress do it together," he said at a news conference in Stockholm on Wednesday.