80% OF AMERICANS SAY GET CONGRESS TO APPROVE SYRIA STRIKE

FROM USA TODAY

80% of Americans Say: Get Congressional Approval on Syria

By Aamer Madhani, USA Today

30 August 13

early 80% of Americans say President Obama should seek congressional approval before taking any military action in Syria, according to an NBC News poll published Friday.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents say they want the president to receive congressional approval before taking any action.

The tough poll numbers for the White House come one day after members of Obama's national security team provided 26 lawmakers with an unclassified briefing to detail some of the intelligence they say shows regime loyalists linked to Syrian President Bashar Assad were responsible for a chemical attack Aug. 21 outside Damascus that left hundreds dead. The British Parliament voted Thursday to reject taking limited military action against Syria, despite the U.K. government releasing intelligence that shows the regime has deployed chemical weapons 15 times against the Syrian opposition. Overall, 50% of Americans say they oppose the United States taking military action against Assad, and 42% support it, according to the new poll.

When respondents were asked if the military action meant launching cruise missiles from naval warships - 50% favored it, while 44% opposed military action.