THE CONSERVATIVE REVIEW - September 10, 2013****-- Syria strike: White House starts 'flood the zone' strategy --*WASHINGTON - The case that Assad regime forces gassed civilians is made, a top White House aide said, as officials pushed hard to win support for a U.S. strike on Syria.
"Nobody now debates the intelligence, which makes clear -- and we have high confidence about this -- that in August, the Assad regime used chemical weapons against its own people," White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough maintained on CNN's "State of the Union," part of a blitz of interviews he did Sunday on every major TV network.
"Congress has an opportunity this week to answer a simple question -- should there be consequences for him for having used that material?"
Syrian President Bashar Assad denied in a CBS and Public Broadcasting Service interview airing Monday he had anything to do with the Aug. 21 attack in suburban Damascus, which the Obama administration alleges killed more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of children.
Assad said he didn't even know if an attack with chemical weapons had taken place, although if one did, the rebel opposition may have been behind it, he said, repeating an early allegation the Obama administration and opposition leaders deny.
Starting Monday, the administration mounts a full-court press to win the hearts and minds of Capitol Hill lawmakers returning from summer recess and regular U.S. citizens.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and national security adviser Susan Rice are to brief the entire House on U.S. intelligence assessments in a closed-door session at 5 p.m. EDT Monday, officials said.
President Obama is to talk separately with ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN and Fox News Monday afternoon, with the interviews running later in the day on the respective networks' evening news shows.
He is to go to Capitol Hill Tuesday to meet with Senate Democrats and follow that meeting with a nationally televised prime-time address Tuesday evening.
In that address, he is expected to argue not punishing Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons would embolden not just his regime but also Assad allies Hezbollah, Lebanon's Shiite Islamic militant group and political party, and Iran, an administration official told The Washington Post.
Obama joined a Sunday night dinner Vice President Joe Biden held at the vice president's residence for about a dozen Republican senators in the hope of winning over skeptics.
Some lawmakers say they remain unsure who was responsible for the attack or are unconvinced a strike would be the appropriate response.
Lawmakers opposing military action include an unusual alliance of liberal Democrats, who often support Obama, and strident Republican critics.
As part of the administration's "flood the zone" strategy, McDonough will meet with House Democrats and Rice is to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus, whose members are in both chambers.
The Senate is expected to vote as early as Wednesday on a resolution authorizing Obama to use force in Syria.
The resolution, as it stands, backs a military mission designed, in part, to change the momentum of the Syrian civil war and set the stage for Assad's departure.
The House -- where opposition to military action is believed stronger than in the Senate, despite backing by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. -- is expected to vote next week.
White House officials, including Obama, have argued if Congress fails to pass a resolution the United States would lose credibility on the international stage.
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