Two leading US senators said Monday they support a reaction to the use of chemical weapons in Syria that both degrades the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and upgrades rebel forces, dpa reported.
The senators - John McCain and Lindsey Graham, both Republicans - told reporters after meeting US President Barack Obama that the administration appears to have a plan that would not only hurt the regime, but also includes what Graham said was "a pretty solid plan to upgrade the opposition."
McCain and Graham stressed that now that Congress has been consulted on whether the US should take military action, a vote against it would be "catastrophic" and would leave the credibility of the US "shredded."
The two senators, who are preparing for a debate in Congress of Obama's proposed military strike against the Syrian regime, said they know Americans are war weary after wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thus they stressed that the plan doesn't include US "boots on the ground."