Top Story: President Obama has put it on Congress, when they return from their summer recess, to make a decision on action in Syria.
- "I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress." -President Obama from the Rose Garden on Saturday (MSNBC)
- House Speaker John Boehner announced the House will consider a measure next week when Congress returns from recess. (Talking Points Memo)
- Sen. John McCain said Tuesday morning on the Today Show that the president was playing a "very difficult game" by calling for military action in Syria. "I think it's a very tough call, but to do nothing, as I said, would have consequences throughout the world. But to do something that really doesn't change anything, in other words some token strikes, and then some time later, Bashar Assad uses those chemical weapons again. What then? Go through the same routine?" (Today Show)
- McCain also said on Morning Joe, "I am not signing on until I see the details." (@Morning_Joe)
- Assad has remained defiant through all of this, saying in a new interview that a strike from the West would set off a "Middle East powder keg." (Daily Mail)
- Meanwhile, abroad... British Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the UK will continue to push for a "strong international response" in Syria, but also will respect Parliament's vote last week against military intervention. (BBC News)
- Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted Saturday after the president's remarks in the Rose Garden, "I understand and support Barack Obama's position on #Syria." (@David_Cameron)
- China remains on edge as the U.S. weighs its next moves. Officials do not want the U.S. to take action. (AP)
- citizens in Beijing are voicing their concerns over America's need to play "world policeman." (NBC News)
- Israel announced Tuesday morning it conducted a joint missile test with the U.S. over the Mediterranean, without warning. (Reuters)
And last, but not least, the article everyone should read from this weekend: "9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask" (Washington Post)