In this June 25, 2009 file photo, U.S. Senator John McCain watches as U.S. President Barack Obama meets with members of Congress to discuss immigration, in the White House in Washington, D.C.
President Barack Obama will meet Monday with Sen. John McCain in an attempt to enlist support for a military strike in Syria from his one-time White House rival.
Obama’s announcement over the weekend that he’ll seek congressional approval for a “limited” response to Syrian strongman Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons in the country’s bloody civil war now turns the focus to skeptical Capitol Hill leaders like McCain.
But Obama has his work cut out for him. The Arizona Republican, who has pushed Obama to take more aggressive action against Syria, said during CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that a U.S. strike there “can’t just be, in my view, pinprick cruise missiles.” And during an interview with an Israeli television network, McCain accused the president of having “encouraged our enemies” by seeking congressional support for a military response, the Associated Press reports.
[AP]