奧巴馬敦促國會議員支持對敘打擊

U.S. President Barack Obama will again make the case for military action in Syria when he speaks with key lawmakers.

Mr. Obama is scheduled to meet with prominent Senator John McCain at the White House Monday. McCain has long urged the president to take forceful action against Syria, possibly even removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.

But many U.S. lawmakers remain skeptical, questioning whether the military should be involved at all.

U.S. officials Sunday briefed some lawmakers on intelligence showing the Syrian military dropped poison gas on civilians outside Damascus last month, killing more than 1,000 people.

International support for military intervention in Syria, despite evidence of a possible chemical weapons attack, has been waning. But NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday something must be done.

Russia, a long-time Syrian ally, questioned Monday the credibility of U.S. evidence the Assad government used chemical weapons. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also cautioned that any military strike will only make it more difficult to find a political solution.
The Syrian government denies using chemical weapons and says the rebels have used poison gas against Syrian troops.美國總統奧巴馬星期一與重要國會議員會晤，爭取國會支持對敘利亞採取軍事行動。

奧巴馬計劃星期一在白宮會晤重量級參議員約翰•麥凱恩，麥凱恩一直敦促奧巴馬總統對敘利亞採取強有力的行動，甚至可能包括推翻敘利亞總統巴沙爾•阿薩德。

但是很多國會議員抱懷疑態度，他們對軍隊是否應當捲入敘利亞提出質疑。

美國政府官員星期日就有關情報向一些議員做了通報。情報顯示，敘利亞軍隊上個月在大馬士革城外向平民投放毒氣，殺害了一千多人。

雖然有證據顯示可能發生了化學武器襲擊，但國際社會支持對敘利亞進行軍事幹預的呼聲有所減弱，不過北約祕書長拉斯穆森星期一表示，必須採取行動。

到目前爲止，只有法國和土耳其強烈支持美國以軍事行動做出反應。

敘利亞的長期盟友俄羅斯星期一質疑美國有關敘利亞動用化學武器的證據是否可信。

俄羅斯外長拉夫羅夫還警告說，軍事攻擊只能使政治解決更加困難。

敘利亞政府否認動用了化學武器，他們指責反政府武裝對敘利亞軍隊使用了毒氣。