Secretary of State John Kerry discussed President Obama's plan for a military strike on Syria, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
Kerry presented what he called a targeted strike intended to "degrade and deter" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ability to use chemical weapons. He stressed that this resolution will not land the U.S. in an extended war, promising no "boots on the ground."
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"President Obama is not asking America to go to war," Kerry said.
Sitting beside Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kerry said it's "definitively in our national security interest" to respond to hard proof that Assad's regime carried out a large-scale chemical weapons strike against his own people. The White House on Friday declassified a four-page report on Syria's use of chemical weapons.
"Hair and blood samples from first responders in East Damascus have tested positive for signatures of sarin," Kerry told the committee.
Though congressional leaders from both parties have expressed support for Obama's plan, the American public remains skeptical. A poll jointly conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News found that about six out of 10 people oppose attacking Syria.
Kerry also attempted to mollify concerns about military action based on potentially faulty intel, calling the proof of Assad's transgressions "undeniable." Kerry was a senator during the passage of the Iraq War Resolution, and he voted "yes" on the measure, based on the belief that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction.
"Assad’s regime executed the worst chemical-weapons attack of the 21st century — that fact is beyond question," Kerry said.
Committee chairman Sen. Robert Menendez, who voted against the war in Iraq as a member of the House of Representatives, opened the hearing by affirming his support for action in Syria.
"What message do we send the world when such a crime goes unpunished?" Menendez asked.
Kerry, Hagel and Dempsey argued throughout the hearing that intervention in Syria was necessary on several grounds, not just to uphold the the 1925 Geneva Protocol — which prohibits the use of chemical weapons (Syria signed in 1968) — but also to prevent a sort of chain reaction of "emboldening" other regimes such as Iran and North Korea.
"If we fail to act, we're going to have fewer allies," Kerry said.
Sen. Bob Corker, a ranking member of the Foreign Relations committee, called the decision one of the hardest any senator will have to make. As Kerry finished his remarks, a protestor had to be escorted from the room when she shouted, "Nobody wants this war!" Kerry stressed from his opening remarks that he thought debate would be crucial to this decision-making process.
"The world is watching not just to see what we decide, but how we make this decision," he said. "They want to know if America will rise to this moment and make a difference."
Members of Congress will learn about specific tactical elements of Obama's intervention plan at closed-door meetings scheduled for Wednesday.
Watch Kerry's full statement here:

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