Senate Panel Backs Use of Force Against Syria

A key Senate panel on Wednesday backed President Barack Obama's request to strike Syria, while the Pentagon prepared to employ greater firepower to reach a shifting array of military targets.

The revised options under development, which reflect Pentagon concerns that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has dispersed his military equipment, include the use of Air Force bombers to supplement the four Navy destroyers armed with missiles that are deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. Initially, Pentagon planners said they didn't intend to use aircraft in the proposed strikes.

The Pentagon shift came amid an accelerating tempo toward U.S. military action in response to the Assad regime's alleged use of chemical weapons on a large scale Aug. 21, an attack U.S. officials say killed more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of children.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution Wednesday saying a goal of U.S. policy will be to "change the momentum on the battlefield'' in Syria's civil war and speed a negotiated removal of Mr. Assad. The measure would ban the use of ground forces in Syria "for the purpose of combat operations" and sets a 60-day limit for Mr. Obama to launch strikes. It includes a possible 30-day extension if Mr. Obama determined that was needed to meet the resolution's goals.

The committee vote was the first formal test of congressional sentiment about launching the Syria strike and illustrated how much Mr. Obama's path to victory takes him across a political tightrope. Mr. Obama and his allies will have to balance anxieties of lawmakers who worry the U.S. will get too involved in Syria with the concerns of hawks worried that isolated attacks won't accomplish enough. Beefing up the extent of any bombing mission could inflame these tensions.

The measure passed only after the committee added amendments by Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) designed to set a broader strategy. Mr. McCain has been a crucial supporter of Mr. Obama's push for congressional approval to use force and opposed an earlier measure as too narrow. The amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) also called for an increase in U.S. efforts to provide lethal and nonlethal support for "vetted" elements of the Syrian rebel opposition.

The vote laid bare divisions in both political parties. Seven Democrats and three Republicans voted for the resolution; two Democrats and five Republicans voted against it.