A draft resolution being circulated by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) would give Syria 45 days to sign an international chemical weapons ban or face military retaliation from the United States.
According to Politico:
The alternative to a use-of-force resolution could forestall an immediate American strike and create an incentive for Assad not to use chemical weapons against his own people again. It may also provide a rallying point for lawmakers who are reluctant to either approve strikes or reject the use of force outright.
The draft would require President Obama to use the 45 day period to submit a Syria strategy to Congress and he would be expected to use all diplomatic tools to build an international coalition for stopping the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Here’s a snippet from the resolution, which is still being developed:
“The failure by the government of Bashar al-Assad to sign and comply with the [Chemical Weapons] Convention clearly demonstrates a disregard of international norms on the use of chemical weapons,” reads a draft of the resolution obtained by POLITICO. “If the Government of Syria does not sign the Convention within 45 after the date of the enactment of this resolution, all elements of national power will be considered by the United States government.”
In the meantime, the U.S. has urged all nonessential diplomats to leave neighboring Lebanon due to security reasons as talks of striking Syria heat up.
Maybe this new resolution would do away with those security threats. But then again, no one likes to be given an ultimatum.
SOURCE: Politico | Huffington Post
